


Stranger than Earth

by jennsaisquoi



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-09-07 18:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8810869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennsaisquoi/pseuds/jennsaisquoi
Summary: After foiling Cadmus, Lena and Kara deal with the consequences of their heroics.





	1. Chapter 1

 

I.

 

A breeze heavy with the scent of fish and diesel blows into National City’s port. The night is dark but the city lights flicker playfully in the distance, casting long shadows out towards the docks and buildings lining the water.

 

The district is quiet with the exception of one warehouse, its exterior bathed in harsh industrial spotlights. The roof is teeming with police and crime scene investigators collecting evidence of what was surely intended to be a catastrophic terrorist attack. One figure stands apart from the chaos, half hidden in the shadows.

 

Lena wrinkles her nose, pulling up the collar of her trench coat to block the wind before shoving her hands back in her pockets. She doesn’t spare a glance to the cacophony around her, instead focusing on the nearby National City skyline. In Metropolis the skyscrapers rise off the sea like jagged teeth, defensive and impenetrable. But the sprawl of National City glows like a beacon: warm, inviting, alive.

 

It makes Lena wonder what it would have looked like if her mother and Cadmus had been successful. Her thoughts are interrupted when a detective appears at her elbow.

 

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Ms. Luthor. I just need you to write down your statement over here and then we’ll get you home and out of the cold.”

 

“Of course.”

 

Lena follows the detective across the rooftop. She passes a team of forensic scientists examining the rocket launcher. The launch key is still engaged.

 

The warm approval in her mother’s eyes when she handed Lena that key had been unexpected. Lena is aware that she’s secondary in her mother’s eyes, no matter how hard she works to please her. Lex’s achievements are met with jubilation, his shortcomings forgiven. Meanwhile, Lena’s efforts are met with cool indifference; even her successes with the company earn only the most begrudging respect.

 

Not long ago, Lena shadowed Lex around Luthor Corp’s labs finishing projects or salvaging whatever research and technology she could to put towards her own initiatives. She’d hoped to convince him of the importance of the other work Luthor Corp did, that he could help people if he would just give up his vendetta against Superman, but in the end she couldn’t reach him. She should have seen her mother’s hand in that.

 

When she reaches the warehouse stairs, Lena hesitates. She moved L-Corp to National City to leave the dark stain on the Luthor name behind. She gave the company a new name, new vision—even a new color scheme: white for new beginnings, for clean hands, for good intentions. White that speaks of accountability and transparency; the antithesis of everything presumed to be Luthor.

 

As Lena scans the rooftop crime scene for the final time, she’s reminded that the Luthor name is associated with evil for a reason. Lena wishes that the world could understand that what binds her family together is not an appetite for destruction, but ambition and the will to follow through no matter the cost. Her mother never misses an opportunity to remind Lena that she’s not a Luthor, but Lena saw the pride in her mother’s eyes tonight as she was led away in cuffs. Maybe she’s finally proven the woman wrong.

 

Lena turns her back on the roof and follows the detective down a set of stairs to the street. They pass through a group of police vehicles, stopping at a van that appears to be the field headquarters of the investigation. Someone hands Lena a pad of paper and the detective leads her to a makeshift table. She briskly scribbles her account of what happened before turning to the detective and handing him the paper and pen. “Anything else?”

 

The detective consults the paper, nods, and sets it back down. He points to the empty line at the bottom of the page. “Just your signature there,” he says.

 

Lena pauses for a moment, reads over her words. She takes a breath, imagines her mother in a cell like Lex, her father buried in the ground. When the officer hands her the pen, she signs ‘Lena Luthor’ with the solemn gravity of a death certificate. She is an orphan again.

 

\-----------------------------------------

II.

  

An officer gives Lena a ride back into the city. She has him let her out a few blocks from her apartment; she’s wearing one of her more practical pairs of heels (if such a thing exists) and she desperately needs the air.

 

The streets are quiet and Lena takes her time, heels clacking loudly off the pavement. While she waits at a crosswalk, Lena looks up at the buildings stretching up above her into the night sky. She tilts her head slightly, and from this angle it looks like the buildings might fold over and swallow her. Fleetingly, she wonders what it would feel like to be crushed under layer upon layer of concrete and steel.

 

She cuts through the park. It’s late but Lena still encounters the occasional jogger or dog walker. She’s content to be alone with her thoughts when she hears soft laughter from down the path. A couple sits on a nearby bench, heads bent together and hands intertwined. They’re so wrapped up in each other they don’t even notice Lena passing by. She can’t help but recognize the electricity between them, the excitement of something new beginning. Lena would know: she feels it every time she thinks of Kara.

 

At first Lena thought it was a passing crush; Kara is a beautiful woman and Lena, well, Lena does have eyes. Initially, Kara’s visits were just a welcome break from the monotony of her work, someone new to talk to who isn’t on her payroll. Running L-Corp means Lena has to be on her game at all times and as the head of the company she can’t exactly relax around her colleagues. Lena didn’t really intend to let her guard down around Kara, but Kara is so genuinely unassuming and Lena just feels _good_ when Kara’s around. It doesn’t help that when Kara smiles at her Lena feels a sunrise blooming between her ribs.

 

So she’s given Kara access, measured her words less carefully, and let Kara see her as Lena rather than just the new Luthor at the head of L-Corp. She’s caught herself thinking about Kara in quiet moments, wondering if Kara might feel the same. Lena remembers the thrill of the first time she caught Kara staring, it was while she was explaining some mundane detail about L-Corp technology. Kara tried to play it off, adjusting her glasses to hide the blush creeping up her throat and across her cheeks. Lena pretended not to notice and spent the rest of the conversation just trying to control her breathing.

 

After that Lena had known she needed an excuse to see Kara outside the office, to make it clear she wants something more than to just be the subject of Kara’s reporting. When she asked Kara to come with her to the gala she thought she’d have the chance to make her intentions more clear, but that plan was derailed less by Kara’s third-wheeling intern Matt (or was it Mike?) than by the alien gang war on the dance floor.

 

But then Kara showed up at L-Corp asking about Lena’s mother. Rationally Lena knows Kara has to do her job as a reporter, but when Kara came in with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, pen at the ready, hovering over her seat like she was ready to bolt out of the office to break the story at any moment…well, Lena knew exactly what was going on.

 

The barely concealed hurt on Kara’s face at Lena’s sudden dismissed barely even registered. Lena was too busy observing in Kara the same urgency and vague insincerity that so often accompanied journalists looking for a story, or worse, those who’d already found one and were looking to confirm it. Lena had certainly seen enough of that when the press caught wind of what was really going on with Lex and Luther Corp. But what could Kara have known? Lena’s mother kept no confidences, no one knew anything about her plans.

 

Not until...Supergirl.

 

Supergirl who showed up at Lena’s office to tell her that her mother worked for Cadmus. Supergirl who claimed to have been recently kidnapped. Supergirl who knows Kara. Kara who Lena hasn’t heard from in the few days – since Lena all but chased her out of her office…

 

Lena stops walking.

 

_Kara is Supergirl. She’s an alien._

 

Lena starts to pace as she thinks through this incomprehensible hypothesis. She starts with her last encounter involving both Kara and Supergirl: the gala. Kara was there for a while, but when the fighting started she’d disappeared again and Lena didn’t see her for the rest of the night. Supergirl had appeared in Kara’s stead – and she’d lingered at the scene afterwards. The two are never seen in the same place. Lena recalls the way Kara hesitated when Lena invited her to try the alien detection device...but Kara passed. Lena frowns, slowing to a halt.

 

Lena is suddenly aware of the concerned looks being sent her way by passersby, so she quickly exits the park and continues in the direction of her apartment. In all their previous meetings Supergirl has been poised, confident. But tonight was different. There was no bravado as she strode through the balcony door, if anything Supergirl looked nervous. She seemed almost ashamed to be asking about Lena’s mother, arms crossed defensively over that giant S on her chest. Lena remembers the way Supergirl flinched, the subtle dip of her chin when Lena suggested that Supergirl might target her next. Underneath the suit and the swagger, the details are all Kara.

 

The realization hits her like a punch in the gut and Lena runs abruptly to empty her stomach into the nearest trashcan.

 

She doesn’t even notice she’s in front of her building until the doorman greets her – too caught up in her thoughts to register going up and letting herself into her empty apartment. She doesn’t bother to turn on the lights as she moves into the kitchen, contemplating a glass of wine. God knows she deserves it.

 

But then Lena flashes back to her mother’s last visit to her office, how disdainfully she’d looked at Lena over her own glass. She thinks of Cyborg Superman throwing a huge chunk of concrete at her head in the L-Corp lobby, and how Supergirl had stepped in front of her at the last moment. She remembers Kara sitting in her office, telling her she’d changed her mind and that there might just be some bad aliens out there.

 

_How could I have missed this?_ Lena steadies herself on the counter. She forces her legs to carry her further into the apartment, moving through the shadows to take off her heels and her coat. When she makes it to the couch she lies down and closes her eyes. She pretends not to feel the tears when they come.

 

 

\-----------------------------

III.

 

When Kara arrives at L-Corp the next morning the building is full of its usual bustle of scientists and business people. Everything seems normal except for the construction crews repairing all the broken glass and miscellaneous damage from the night before. Kara hadn’t realized just how big of a mess they’d made. A wave of embarrassment passes over her as she walks through the lobby, careful not to touch anything.

 

As she approaches the elevators, Kara passes two men struggling to lift the remnants of the concrete L-Corp logo and winces involuntary at the memory of flying through it a few short hours before. It seems longer than that, but it’s probably just because Kara spent the rest of the night on Barry’s earth getting lectured by a broody Robin Hood, mind controlled into destroying a superweapon, and chasing Dominators across the space time continuum with some nice people she’s pretty sure are felons in multiple dimensions. Just thinking about the multiverse makes Kara tired. And hungry. She wonders if Lena has any bagels stashed in her office.

 

The elevator ride to the top floor feels like an eternity, and Kara finds herself feeling increasingly nervous.

 

It’s not that unusual, there’s always been something about seeing Lena that just makes Kara feel...tingly. When they first met Kara had been curious, if a little intimidated, by Lena’s intellect and ambition. But Lena is always gracious and thoughtful, and Kara really wants more with her than a series of interviews. Not that she’ll ever get it; Lena is an exceptional woman and Kara is, well, _Kara_.

 

But still, she can’t help but notice the way Lena’s eyes always linger on her lips when Kara’s talking, or the way she always seems to be looking for an excuse to see Kara outside of the office. Kara can tell Lena enjoys the time they spend together for work even if they don’t always agree on whatever they’re discussing. Lena seems open to Kara’s views in a way Kara never expected, and Kara briefly wonders how Lena would react if she told her truth. Lena seems to genuinely like Supergirl, last night’s talk notwithstanding.

 

Helping save Barry’s Earth hasn’t left Kara much time to process what happened, to think about what Lena’s actions last night mean. Kara has always believed, or at least wanted to believe, that Lena is on Supergirl’s side regardless of what Alex and the DEO may think. Even so, she didn’t expect Lena to cross her mother in such a direct fashion, and despite her best intentions there was a moment as Lena turned the launch key when Kara had doubted her, too.

 

A rush of guilt floods through Kara when she thinks of the look on Lena’s face as her mother was taken into custody, the familiar mask of confidence crumbling as she turned away from the scene. Lena looked so young and sad, so far from the self-assured woman Kara first met with Kal. Kara had wanted to go to her then, to tell her she was sorry, that she deserved a better mother than Lillian Luthor had ever been.

 

But that isn’t Supergirl’s place, and there’s no reason why Kara Danvers would have been at that warehouse. Lena is alone.

 

The thought turns Kara’s stomach just as the elevator chimes for Lena’s floor. She quickly adjusts her collar to better conceal the suit underneath, and as she steps off the elevator Kara accepts that the prickling feeling in her palms isn’t a product of her usual anticipation, but something more like dread.

 

\-----------------------

IV.  

Lena stands with her back to the door, arms folded as she gazes out over the city. She looks striking in the mid-morning light, but when Lena turns around Kara sees the dark circles under her eyes covered by makeup that doesn’t do quite enough. Kara gathers her courage and steps towards the other woman. “I saw the news about your mother’s arrest. Lena, I’m so sorry.”

 

Lena doesn’t smile, doesn’t offer Kara a seat as she steps out from behind her desk. “Why are you here?” Lena’s voice is steady, but the anguish in her eyes is unnerving. Kara tries to maintain her composure, reaching up to straighten her glasses.

 

“I just wanted to see how you were.”  Lena hardly seems to hear her, eyes searching Kara’s face. Kara holds her notebook to her chest, trying not to let her hands shake. “What happened?”

 

Lena looks away, voice devoid of any emotion. “I helped send the only family I have left to prison. Nothing out of the ordinary for us Luthors.”  

 

Kara takes a few steps toward Lena, she wants to take her hand, to hug her, but everything about Lena stance is defensive. It would make sense if Kara were here as Supergirl, but Kara doesn’t understand why Lena’s acting like this towards her now. “I’m sorry. I know what you did couldn’t have been easy, but I’m sure it saved a lot of lives.”

 

Lena scoffs. “What _I_ did?” She steps towards Kara, fixing her with a sharp, appraising look. Kara tightens her grip on her notebook, suddenly feeling like she’s missed something important. Lena continues, “You come in here to interview me about my mother, who has no involvement in L-Corp, and then a few days later Supergirl shows up to tell me my mother is involved with Cadmus and to give me a pep talk about not following in the family footsteps. You’re a journalist. You don’t think that’s...convenient?”

 

_Oh._ Kara swallows hard as Lena walks a slow circle around her. It feels predatory, and Kara suddenly finds herself wondering if Lena has access to any of Lex’s research. She’s never considered it before, but the thought sends a jolt of cold fear up the back of Kara’ neck. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“Of course you don’t.” Lena stops, her expression still hard. “You know, when she came to me last night, for a moment it felt like I was talking to you.” Lena steps closer, eyes searching her face. Kara looks away. “And now you’re here, standing right where she was with your notebook against your chest like a few pieces of paper and a pair of glasses could hide who you are. I don’t know how I didn’t see it earlier.”

 

“Lena I--”

 

She stops short as Lena takes the notebook from Kara’s trembling hands, setting it on the closest chair. For a moment Kara wonders if Lena is going to try something. But when she turns to face Kara, Lena’s hands are empty.

 

There are tears in her eyes as she says, “Kara, please. I have lost everything. My family, maybe even the good name of my company. I don’t have anything left. Let me have the truth.”

 

Lena’s hands reach for the top button of Kara’s shirt and Kara feels helpless to stop her. She hears Alex’s voice in her head telling her this is a mistake but Kara is so tired of hiding from Lena, who has only ever been honest with her.

 

On top of that, Lena is right. Kara was so concerned with stopping Cadmus, with getting to the bottom of whatever Lillian Luthor was planning, she hadn’t considered the fallout for Lena. In the end it was Lena who saved the day, saved her life, J’onn’s life, and the lives of every alien in National City. But now here she is alone with her grief, while the media congratulates Supergirl and the FBI.  

 

So Kara lets Lena unclasp one button, then two. She can hear Lena’s heart is hammering just as hard as her own, but she can’t bring herself to look at her face. At the third button Lena’s hand stills. Kara knows that behind the fabric of her shirt Lena must see blue and bright red. Her mouth suddenly feels like a desert. She swallows, forces the words out anyway. “I’m sorry.”

 

Kara dares to glance down at Lena, who shakes her head as the first tears fall. Lena runs her fingertips over the top of the House of El coat of arms, over Kara’s heart. “Supergirl,” she whispers with a sad smile. “The brightest light in all of National City.” She steps back, her eyes finally meeting Kara’s as her hand falls away. Kara has never felt so exposed.

 

“I wanted to tell—“

 

“You’re supposed to see the best in people.  But I saw the way you looked at me before I fired the missile. You thought I was going to do it, to kill everyone. Like my mother would have. Like Lex.”

 

Lena covers her mouth with one hand to stifle a sob and Kara feels her stomach drop through the floor. She reaches for Lena’s other hand, desperate to make this stop. “Lena, I meant what I said. You’re not like your mother. You’re not Lex and I’m not my cousin. We don’t have to make the same mistakes.”

 

Then Lena does something unexpected. She turns and puts her arms around Kara’s neck, resting her head on Kara’s shoulder. Kara instinctively pulls her close, savoring the unexpected contact. They linger in this embrace for a moment, Lena’s breath warm against Kara’s neck. She leans up to gently press her lips to Kara’s cheek and Kara thinks about kissing her, telling her it won’t happen again, that she trusts her. But before she can move Lena is stepping back, hands shaking as she begins slowly re-buttoning Kara’s shirt.

 

“It’s too late. Here we are, a Super and a Luthor, with nothing between us but lies.” She finishes with the top button of Kara’s shirt, smoothing her collar back into place with a tenderness that steals the breath from Kara’s lungs.

 

“Please,” Kara says. Because she has already decided she’s not too proud to beg.

 

But she doesn’t get the chance. Lena steps back, folding her arms around herself as she turns away from Kara. “You should go.”

 

\---------------------------

 V.

Kara steps out of the L-Corp building and buttons her jacket straight to the throat in what she knows is a futile attempt to smother the regret trying to claw its way out from inside her chest.

 

It’s not as though the extra layer will keep Kara from feeling the burn of her family crest against her sternum, or that it will erase the memory of Lena’s hand hovering over her heart. The finality of it all is overwhelming and Kara’s sorrow is quickly shifting dangerously close to rage.

 

She strides down the block. Away from L-Corp, away from Lena. She calculates her footfalls: not too heavy, not too light, just right to kiss the fragile pavement. But her hands are already balling into fists and she fights the urge to smash them through a nearby car.

 

Kara keeps walking and tries to focus, to think human. But all she sees when she closes her eyes is the sorrow on Lena’s face and Kara is so tired of doing the math when it just doesn’t add up.

 

So, she flies.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to @anamatics for the beta.
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed the first stop on this angst train. Comments appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go from bad to worse.

\----------------------------------

I.

Kara arrives at CatCo late enough to miss the afternoon coffee run. As she heads into the building she makes sure her shirt is buttoned properly and glasses firmly back in place, no reason for anyone to suspect she’d been laid bare by Lena or that she just did a few laps at Mach 5 over the Rockies in an attempt to clear her head. Kara isn’t sure how successful that exercise was, but as she reaches the door she takes a deep breath and schools her face into an expression decidedly more pleasant than the guilt and shame she’s feeling internally. The shift is nearly second nature. Kara’s used to hiding things: where she came from, her powers, her grief. It’s the skill she’s refined most since she’s been on earth.

Kara moves through the office briskly, giving Winn and Mon-El a passing wave to avoid the awkward line of questions she knows will be coming given her absence for more than half the day.

She can’t lie to Winn. She still doesn’t know what to think of what happened with Mon-El. The kiss was brief but Kara remembers how empty she felt, how she’d wanted to bolt the second it was over. She isn’t disappointed that he doesn’t mention it again; she wonders if it’s because he really doesn’t remember or if it’s because she kissed him like she wished he were someone else. She doesn’t plan to ask.

She finds James in his office, arms folded over his chest as he watches the news on the multitude of screens on the wall. Kara clears her throat and he turns. “Hey,” he says. “I’ve been looking for you. Winn said you haven’t been in all day.”

She can’t help but notice the concern in his gaze though his tone is light. She adjusts her glasses. “Yeah, I had a…a thing I had to do. I know I should have called I just… ” Kara trails off, hoping to placate James with a shrug and a smile.

James looks unconvinced and Kara is dreading his next question but before he can speak, the Chief of Police of National City begins a press conference on the center screen. James grabs a nearby remote to turn up the sound.

_The chief stands at a podium in front of city hall. “We can confirm that through a joint operation with the FBI we were able to prevent a premeditated attack against the people of our city. A suspect is in custody and we will be lending our full cooperation to the FBI as they handle the case going forward. I will now take questions.”_

_A voice comes from somewhere in the crowd of reporters, “Is it true Lillian Luthor was involved?” The chief looks shocked that this information has already leaked. “I-We’re not going to comment on that at this time. Next question.”_

James hits the mute button and turns back to Kara. “Don’t think he saw that one coming.”

Neither did Kara. “How do people know that?”

James chuckles. “Good question. If the Chief won’t talk, every paper in town will be trying to confirm it from another source. We should try to get a comment from Lena on this. Can you get over there before end of day?”

“No!” The words are tumbling out of her mouth before Kara can stop herself. “I mean, it’s kind of awkward for me to be doing interviews with her while trying to keep her mom in, you know, prison. ”

She tries to recover by leaning casually on James’ desk, but ends up just knocking over a cup full of pens. James laughs and leads her away from the desk. “It’s not like she knows who you are, Kara.”

Kara feels her face starting to flush but she forces out a feeble laugh as she tucks her hair behind her ear. “Right. It’s just, I’d really prefer if someone else did it.” It comes off more desperate than she intended.

James has stopped laughing. “What’s going on?” he asks.

Kara looks away and steps back slightly. “Nothing, I’m just…really busy with this Cadmus investigation and maybe National City needs more Supergirl and less Kara Danvers right now, you know?”

James frowns and his shoulders slump slightly. “We need them both, Kara.”

Kara feels a pang of guilt. James believes in her, in Kara and in Supergirl. When Kara had been insecure about her powers, James had been there to remind her that Supergirl is a hero, someone who inspires people. She wishes she could tell him how much he’s helped her, that it’s not his fault she feels this way, but all she can think of is how steady Lena’s hands were as they buttoned up her shirt. The best part of her, the part so many people seem to love most, is the part Lena wants nothing to do with. Kara tightens her jaw, fighting the urge to clench her fists.

James sighs. “I know you’ve been busy with the DEO, so why don’t you go home and rest, take some vacation time? ”

Normally Kara would protest. CatCo is where she comes to feel normal, to feel like a human. But right now all she wants to do is hit something, and that’s definitely not something she should be doing at the office.

“That might be good, actually. Thanks, James.”

She’s out the door before he can say anything else.

\----------------------------------

II.

Lena sits at her desk reviewing L-Corp’s quarterly expenditure reports. Normally she’d delegate this to someone better suited to mundane paperwork but right now Lena will do anything, including line-by-line accounting, to keep her mind off the events of the morning.

Kara’s appearance in her office hadn’t been expected and with a few hours distance from the encounter Lena’s not sure if she did the right thing in sending Kara away. Kara is smart, kind, and she makes Lena laugh. But she just can’t reconcile that with the fact that Kara, with her soft eyes and bright smile, comes from the same planet as the alien who destroyed her family. When Lena looks at Kara she sees everything she wants wrapped up in everything she’s always despised. Or is it the other way around? Lena doesn’t know.

Something is splintering in her chest but Lena can’t afford to collapse when there’s nothing left to lean on, so she picks up another spreadsheet.

She’s barely begun to work when Jess walks into the office.

“Miss Luthor, there’s someone here from CatCo to see you.”

Lena frowns. Kara would have just walked in. “Who is it?” Lena stands and moves around her desk toward the door.

She doesn’t expect James Olsen to step into the room. He’s carrying a messenger bag and a notebook, looking like he might be here for an interview. Lena pretty sure she would have remembered that on her schedule.

“Miss Luthor, I don’t know if you remember me. I’m James Olsen.” He holds out his hand.

Lena quickly hides her confusion as she shakes his hand and ushers him into the office. “Mr. Olsen. I know who you are; I followed your work with the _Daily Planet_ back in Metropolis. Please, come in.”

James takes a seat and pulls a pen from his bag. It’s not as endearing as when Kara does it.

Lena can’t resist acknowledging the elephant in the room. “I’m surprised to see you here, it’s usually Kara Danvers when someone comes calling from CatCo. What have I done to earn a visit from the new CEO?” Lena moves back around the desk, watching him carefully for any tells as to whether Kara is taking this as badly as she is.

He gives her nothing. “I still try to do some actual journalism every now and then. Kara is focusing on some other assignments so I’d hoped I could ask some questions about what happened the other night.”

She sits up straight. She’s not Lena now, she’s the CEO of L-Corp and it’s important to Lena that James not be aware that there’s a difference. “I’m sorry, I don’t see what that has to do with L-Corp.”

“There are conflicting reports circulating about whether your mother, Lillian Luthor, played a role in what happened. Can you confirm that L-Corp wasn’t also involved?”

So much for that. “L-Corp’s purpose is to provide innovative technology that makes our world safer. I can assure you that we had no part in what happened and that we would welcome the opportunity to work with authorities to ensure the safety and security of the people of National City.”

It’s nearly word-for-word off the statement her PR team gave her this morning. Lena is well aware she’s completely sidestepped his real question, whether her mother was involved, but James just scribbles on the notepad diligently. A reporter of his caliber would expect her evasiveness, yet Lena wonders if he hopes for more disclosure because of her friendliness with Kara. If so, he’ll be disappointed. Her mother may be a monster but she’s still her mother, though Lena wonders if the other woman feels the same.

Lena is jarred from those thoughts when her stomach clenches violently. The nausea has been coming in waves all day and Lena isn’t sure if it’s stress or the lack of food. She hasn’t eaten since yesterday. She checks her watch. “Is there anything else you’d like to discuss, Mr. Olsen? I have a meeting I shouldn’t push.”

Thankfully, James takes the hint. He stands and shakes her hand again with a smile. “No, that was all. Thank you for your time, Ms. Luthor.”

Lena fiddles with her pen as she watches him go. She feels a headache coming on.

\----------------------------------

III.

Twenty minutes later, Jess knocks again. This time she’s accompanied by one of Lena’s project leads, Zach, and L-Corp’s CFO, Cynthia. Lena knows they’re here to talk about the future of L-Corps’s alien detection software, something that up until this morning she had been excited to talk about. Another wave of nausea hits her.

Lena fights through the pain and does her best to greet them both warmly, determined not to let anyone see just how shaken she is by everything that’s happened. When everyone is seated around Lena’s desk, Zach pulls out two tablets and hands one to Cynthia

Cynthia swipes through files on a tablet while Zach looks on, his expressing hopeful.

“The design is impressive. And it really works?” She looks to Lena for confirmation.

Lena tries not to think of the relief on Kara’s face when she’d tried out the detector. She’d examined it later that day and noticed the micro motherboard had overheated in a peculiar way. Lena guesses that Kara used heat vision on the device to render it inoperable.

Before she can say anything, Zach chimes in eagerly. “We’ve done a dozen rounds of testing, the technology is sound. We’ll monopolize the market if we roll out at the beginning of next quarter.”

Lena cuts in, her voice firm. “I’m not ready to make that commitment yet.”

She doesn’t look at Zach, who is surely trying to pick his jaw up off the floor. She knows he’s been working under the assumption that the software will roll out next quarter, as was Lena until Kara showed up this morning.

The guilt in Kara’s eyes had been expected but Lena had also seen something else as she uncovered the suit beneath Kara’s shirt. Kara had been afraid. Lena imagines similar moments taking place all over the city with the help of her software. It no longer feels like something to be proud of.

Lena braces herself for Cynthia’s reaction. The other woman hands the tablet to Zach before turning back to Lena, an incredulous look on her face. “Not ready to commit? Do you _want_ someone else to bring this out first?”

 _I don’t know._ “No, but if we’re going to bring this detector to market we need to be absolutely sure people can trust it. It’s my responsibility to make sure our products are up to standard.”

“And it’s this company’s responsibility to bring in profit. Which we cannot do if you refuse to release any products,” Cynthia shoots back.

Profit. After the last twenty-four hours, Lena couldn’t care less about profit. She rises from her chair, her patience exhausted. “It is _my_ company. _I_ decide when my products are ready to go public, not you or anyone else on the board.”

She nods to a cowering Zach, signaling the meeting is over. Zach nearly trips over his feet in his haste to get out of the room.

Cynthia lingers, unfazed by Lena’s show of rank. “It’s your decision, Lena. But if you continue to idle, you may find your investors going elsewhere, especially in light of recent events. I’m here because I believe in you, but there are many who would like to see the last of the Luthors fall.” She gives Lena a soft smile before exiting the office.

Lena takes a deep breath and slumps back into her chair. She flips through the specs for the detector and thinks about Cynthia’s words. Lena knows Cynthia is right, that she’s just looking out for Lena and the company’s best interest. Many of the company’s executives jumped ship when Lena moved to National City, looking for a fresh start themselves somewhere far away from the Luthor name. Cynthia is one of the few carry-overs, and was a trusted friend of Lena’s father.  

Lena wonders what he would think of all of this. He would have liked Kara, not that it matters now. She gazes longingly at her wine bar before setting the specs aside and turning back to her budget notes.

It’s going to be a long night.

\----------------------------------

IV.

“Hey, last potsticker.” Alex shoves the container across Kara’s coffee table with hardly a glance, eyes still glued to the latest episode of Homeland.

Normally Kara would be glad to see Alex show up with take out for a night of TV on the couch, but she wasn’t really looking for company tonight. “You can have it,” she says.

That’s a bizarre enough statement to tear Alex’s attention away from Claire Danes in a blazer. “ _I can have it_? What’s wrong with it?”

Kara tries to play it off with a shrug. “Nothing, I’m just not very hungry I guess.”

At that Alex puts down her food and shifts to face Kara on the couch. “Ok. What’s wrong?”

 _Lena hates me because I’m an alien._ She doesn’t want to say the words aloud. Kara plays with her hands anxiously. “I just thought you might need the extra food. Didn’t a certain detective stay over last night?”

Alex blushes, runs her hand through her hair nervously. “She did. And we just talked. Well, and kissed. But we didn’t…”

She trails off, a small smile playing at her lips. Kara thinks about Lena’s lips - warm against her cheek - and suddenly wants to be anywhere else, talking about anything else. Thankfully, Alex is oblivious to Kara’s distress. “It was really nice. For the first time I feel like I can just be myself with someone, not have to hide or pretend.”

“I’m happy for you.” And Kara is, but right now everything Alex says just reminds her of the things she’ll never have.

Kara stands and takes some of the plates to the kitchen.

“James told me I could take some time off at CatCo so I was thinking I could help out around the lab or something while we figure out what the next move is on Cadmus.”

Alex hangs over the back of the couch. “You want to hang out at the lab? You hated college bio.”

It’s not exactly true. Back on Krypton, elementary science had come to Kara easily even at a young age. Afternoons in her father’s lab helping him carry out basic experiments used to be among Kara’s happiest memories before she found out what her father actually did.

On earth, science has always been Alex’s passion. She’s always been generous with Kara, but Kara always knew it must be hard to share everything with someone else. So when Alex got a full scholarship and started talking about becoming a bio-engineer, Kara decided to study communications and never mention to Alex that she got the highest grades in her own science classes.

She dumps the plates into the sink. “Well, I thought my heat vision has to be useful for something.”

“If you really want to, ok.”

Alex’s phone beeps. A goofy smile spreads across her face as she types back rapidly. Kara pretends not to notice, not to feel jealous that love seems to be so easy for everyone else. She tightens her grip on the edge of the sink, fighting the urge to rip the top off the counter and throw it through the wall.

Alex gets up and walks toward the door, stopping to pull Kara into a hug. “I’m going to head out. I’ll see you in the morning, ok?”

Kara takes a deep breath and releases the counter to step into Alex’s arms. Alex’s hugs always make Kara feel grounded, like she’s enough exactly as she is. Kara suddenly feels guilty for being jealous. She wants to tell Alex that she knows how she feels, that a message from Lena could make her night too. She wants to tell Alex the truth, to fall apart and have her sister hold her and tell her it’s ok, that it’s normal to fell this way. But she’s from Krypton and what’s between her and Lena isn’t normal. Alex wouldn’t understand.

So Kara just hugs Alex gently, remembering how many times she had to practice and calculate the motion before she could get the pressure just right without being awkward or hurting her.

Alex holds her like she doesn’t remember that, like she’s as human as anyone else. It’s not unlike the way Lena had held her that morning in her office. The way Lena just comes in and out of Kara’s thoughts without her permission is unsettling and Kara doesn’t know how to make it stop.  

She fights her growing anxiety down as she walks Alex to the door. She spends the next few hours cleaning and reorganizing her apartment. She doesn’t sleep well that night.

\----------------------------------

V.

A week into her so-called ‘vacation’ at the DEO Labs, Kara is starting to get bored. She’s tried to keep busy helping Alex, hovering around J’onn for news about Cadmus, and being National City’s on-call good Samaritan (how many cats actually get caught up trees? A lot of them apparently.)

There’s only so much she can do here without a PhD or a lead on Cadmus, so Kara keeps finds herself spending most of her time just waiting around for something to need rescuing or punching.

Spinning slowly in a chair at an empty desk in Alex’s lab, Kara’s mind wanders to Lena, to how many days it’s been since they’ve spoken, to what she could have done differently. No matter how many times she turns the last few months over in her mind, Kara knows that nothing she could have done would change the fact that she’s an alien. It makes Kara angry and before she knows it she’s snapped the pencil she was twirling between her fingers.

It’s not the first time she’s felt this way in the past few days, but she’s already smashed most of the cars in the junkyard and she’s running out of constructive outlets.

So Kara gets up and collects the remnants of the pencil, tossing them into a trashcan as she walks over to where Alex is reviewing some data on a monitor.

“Wanna take a break?”

Alex tears her eyes away from the monitor. “Yes, I feel like my eyes are bleeding. What’re we doing?”

Kara tries to look nonchalant. “I thought we could spar.”

Alex smiles devilishly, already shedding her lab coat. “I thought you’d be tired of getting your ass kicked after, what? The last four times?”

Kara rolls her eyes and shoves Alex’s shoulder lightly as they head towards the Kryptonian diffuser room.

“I think today’s going to be my day.”

Kara puts her hand up to the panel and it glows green as the door slides open. Alex steps inside and Kara follows. Whereas a solar flare feels sudden and explosive, walking into the diffuser feels like just dimming the lights on her powers. It’s strange but not quite uncomfortable.

They both go through their respective warm ups. Kara’s consists of some shadow boxing to orient her limbs to functioning with no powers, to not holding back her swings. Alex’s involves a lot more calisthenics and a few weird stretches Kara recognizes from an old P90X video Alex left in her apartment.

Finally, they both step to the center of the room and move into fighting stances.

Alex opens with a few playful jabs, testing Kara’s reflexes. “So are you going to tell me what’s really going on? I know something’s wrong.”

Kara feigns around Alex’s jabs, tries to go for a hold. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Alex easily escapes Kara’s attempt and advances more aggressively this time. Kara can tell she’s frustrated about her silence. “Fine. But if you just came here to get your ass kicked I would have brought Vasquez in to go a few rounds.”

Alex lands three quick shots to Kara’s torso. They’re soft, Alex is holding back. Kara counters with a swift kick. It was harder than necessary but Alex hardly acknowledges it.

“Bring her. At least she won’t pull her punches.”

They go on like this for a few minutes. Kara fighting with strength but not focus, Alex systematically defending each attack and countering with a better planned and executed maneuver.

This isn’t taking the edge off the way Kara had hoped. With her powers she always has to hold back, and now that it’s an even playing field Alex treats her like she’s too delicate to take a hit. It’s infuriating.

Kara charges Alex again. This time Alex sidesteps her, sending Kara flying head first to the mat.

She immediately starts to push herself to her feet when Alex shoves her back to the mat. “Kara, stop. Whatever you’re upset about, getting yourself hurt isn’t going to help. Talk to me, please.”

But Kara doesn’t want to talk, doesn’t want to feel. If Alex won’t fight her, she’ll go find someone who will.

She rolls away from Alex and gets to her feet. “I have to go.”

She steps out of the room before Alex can say anything and strides down the hall towards the exit. She doesn’t make it far before Vasquez falls into step beside her.

“I’ve been looking for you. We’ve got reports of some sort of alien bugs attacking construction crews working on a new resort development in the desert.”

She hands Kara a tablet with satellite photos and Kara zooms in. She can see what looks like giant sand fleas crawling over the concrete, snapping at the frightened workers who’re trying to hold them off with their equipment.

It’s not exactly the kind of enemy she was hoping for but it’ll have to do, so she hands the tablet back to Vasquez. “Tell Director Henshaw I’m on my way.”

Alex catches up with her just as Kara reaches the door. She puts a hand on Kara’s arm gently. “J’onn and I will meet you at the site. Be careful out there, ok?”

Kara nods and opens the door, stepping out into the sunlight. She vaults into the air and turns south, accelerating towards the construction site.

\----------------------------------

VI.

As she rockets over the desert, Kara sees a cluster of partially constructed buildings and what looks like a giant empty swimming pool nearby. The giant insect crawling over one of the partially erected walls tells Kara this is the right place As she circles the site she hears J’onn come in through her earpiece. “Supergirl, we’re still a few minutes out. You distract whatever those things are so we can get the civilians to safety.”

Kara begins her descent. “I’m on it.”

Moments later she lands with a boom in the middle of the construction site. The bugs are much bigger than they looked on the satellite. The first one that scuttles towards Kara is the size of an elephant, with two pinchers waving in front of what must be its mouth.

Kara cocks her head and the insect makes some sort of hissing sound before snapping its pinchers together. _Ew,_ Kara thinks and raises her fists.

Behind the looming mass of exoskeleton she sees people in yellow helmets moving through the outside of the site towards the DEO vehicles in the distance. But before she can engage, a massive shadow passes over her back and two more of the alien bugs appear, wings flicking rapidly to allow them to hover above the ground.

“Why do they always have to fly,” Kara mutters as she takes off.

The space bugs are faster and more agile that she expected, and she’d really like to get to the part where she hits them. She sees news crews arriving at the scene below as the police cordon off the area. She presses a button on her earpiece. “Director? Can I take these guys down now?”

She hears a faint crackle in her ear before J’onn’s voice comes through. “The site is secure and you are clear to engage. I repeat, clear to engage.”

“Finally,” Kara mumbles. She pulls up and turns to face her pursuers.

“Come and get me!” she yells before barrel rolling sharply towards the site.

She hits the ground and rolls to her feet just as the first bug crashes to the ground. _Big bodies, small brains._ Kara grabs a nearby slab of concrete and smashes it over the head. One down, three to go. She feels better already.

Kara takes off again as the remaining bugs try to change direction and pursue. She weaves between the open floors of one of the half finished buildings. She rockets through a narrow corridor hoping the bug on her tail is stupid enough to try and follow. The crash behind her tells her she was right. One left.

When she emerges from the maze of concrete and steel, the last bug is hovering over what would be the roof of a nearby building. Kara quickly takes stock of what’s around her, fixating on a nearby crane. _Perfect._

Kara streaks off across the compound, weaving in between buildings to slow her pursuer down. Kara’s moving so quickly she can barely make out the details of what’s around her, but she thinks she sees a flash of yellow out of the corner of her right eye as she rockets towards the crane. Someone must have left a helmet.

Kara finally reaches the crane and grabs the chain hanging from the arm as she streaks by. She banks tightly back to her right, swinging the crane arm nearly 180 degrees. Her pursuer doesn’t even have time to react before colliding with the crane arm at full speed. The bug falls like a stone, landing in a heap of concrete and dust.

Kara turns towards the DEO trucks, landing gently in front of Alex and J’onn. Alex is about to say something when a shout comes from the area where the construction workers had been gathered.

Kara turns to see some of the workers sprinting back towards the scene. J’onn immediately takes off after them, with Alex and Kara close behind.

They catch up with the workers as they dig in a pile of rubble. “Don’t just stand there, help us!” one of them screams at Kara as he strains to move a piece of concrete.

Kara moves to help him lift it as J’onn catches up with the workers.

“What’s wrong?”

A worker pulls off his hat as he franticly digs through the rubble. “Nick’s stuck under there, we have to get him out!”

“What do you mean he’s stuck under there? You told me we had everyone!” J’onn bellows.

The man blanches, tears rolling down his face. “I thought we did! It all happened so fast and then I looked around and Nick wasn’t there. He was over here when Supergirl showed up.”

“Get back!” Kara lifts a huge slab of concrete that fell with last of the bugs. Beneath it she sees the crumpled form of a man - Nick, covered in dust and what looks like blood pooling under his helmet. She carefully sets the slab to the side. Her body feels numb.

Alex and the workers rush to the body. Alex gets there first, yelling into her earpiece, “We need medical down here now!”

Alex crouches by Nick, reaching into his collar to check for a pulse. J’onn and some of the police try to keep the distraught workers back so Alex can work. Kara wants to go to her, to see if the man is ok, but her legs won’t work. When Alex finally stands and faces the small crowd that’s gathered, she looks pale.

“He’s dead.”

For a moment, everything stops. Then the scene erupts into chaos. The news crews followed the commotion and are clamoring to document this turn of events. One of the workers rushes at Kara only to be intercepted by J’onn. Her tries to climb over J’onn’s broad shoulders, his face twisted in grief.

“You killed him! You were supposed to help us and you got him killed!”

Kara steps back. “I didn’t mean…” Suddenly Alex is beside her, a protective arm around her shoulders.

Kara leans into Alex as the older woman leads her away from the body towards the DEO vehicles. “Come on, let’s go.”

The worker J’onn has been restraining turns back to the police. “You’re just going to let her leave?! She’s just killed someone!”

Kara pauses. He’s right. She turns back to the crowd. Most of the workers are sitting amongst the rubble trying to comfort one another while the medical team tends to the body, to Kara’s victim.

The police look uncomfortable. The man is right, but they know as well as she does that the cuffs can’t hold her if she doesn’t go willingly.

One of the officers turns to her accuser. “We can’t just—“

Kara steps forward, offers her hands to the officer. “You can. Arrest me.”

Alex tries to grab her arm. “Kara, what’re you doing?”

Kara shrugs away. “Alex, please, I have to do this. You saw what happened.”

“It was an accident!”

J’onn puts a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Alex. Stop.”

The officer steps forward, pulling the cuffs from his belt. The metal feels cold around Kara’s wrists.

“Come with me, Supergirl.”

Kara turns away from Alex and J’onn, from the crying workers, from the wreckage of her misjudgment.

The flashes are blinding as she’s led to the transport vehicle.

The officer opens the door and Kara ducks inside. As the door closes she hears one of the reporters nearby beginning her broadcast.

“We’re coming to you live from just outside National City, where after fighting some aliens trying to take over this construction site, Supergirl has been arrested for causing the death of construction worker Nick Waller…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like more suffering on the horizon for these two. 
> 
> Comments always appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara deals with the fallout of her mistake. Lena picks a side.

I.

Kara sits on a bench in one corner of the otherwise empty jail cell. The National City jail is a far cry from the high tech facility Lena’s mother had used when she’d imprisoned Kara and Mon-El, and out of habit Kara calculates the amount of force she’d need to pry the bars open. They look like standard iron, it wouldn’t take much. Then again, she could free herself just as easily by melting the lock with her heat vision or just smashing through the wall.

Kara’s powers have always made her feel grounded, connected to her Kryptonian family and to her first home. Now the idea of using them makes her want to rip off her suit and crawl out of her skin. Kara’s breath comes short now and she leans forward on the bench, wrapping her hands around the cold metal and willing herself to calm down. She feels the metal start to warm and then bend under her grip. She jumps up — away from the bench. She can’t destroy anything else today.

Kara paces the cell, her arms folded safely around her torso. Within a few strides she reaches the opposite wall. Its simple concrete is covered in a coat of latex paint; it’s not meant to hold something as powerful, or as dangerous, as she is. Kara feels a sob bubbling up in her chest and chokes it down. She wishes she could go back to that morning, to the krypton diffuser room where the only person she could hurt was herself. She should have listened to Alex.

Kara sinks to the floor and leans back against the cold wall. She closes her eyes and lets her mind go back to the construction site. She remembers how effortless it was to lift that slab of concrete, like pulling a sheet off the bed. But Nick wasn’t sleeping and the image of his limbs folded awkwardly beneath his crumpled body is burned into Kara’s memory. Kara looks down at her hands where they hang limp in her lap, not a single scratch on them. No one should be able to take a life that easily.

She thinks back to sitting on Lena’s office couch, to how adamant the other woman had been about people needing to be able to protect themselves. At the time Kara had agreed, never considering that people might need to be protected from her, too. She wonders what Lena must think of her now.

Kara feels the shame shoot through her again, hot and all too familiar. She draws her legs up to her chest, trying to take up as little space as possible. She wishes for the power to fold up into something so small she just disappears. The tears come and this time she doesn’t try to stop them.

Kara doesn’t know how long she sits that way, drifting in her own despair, but she’s drawn out of her mindless state when she picks up the sound of muffled voices in the distance. There’s a rapidly escalating conversation taking place somewhere in the vicinity of the jail reception desk. Kara allows the sounds to sharpen and clarify until she recognizes the voice of the officer who processed her when she was first brought in. The woman had been kind, and Kara had sworn she’d seen something that looked like pity in her eyes when she locked Kara in her cell.

“Once the charges are filed she’ll have to stay here until her arraignment, then the judge will decide if she can be released on bond or if she poses a flight risk.”

Something slams against the desk with a loud bang, the force of the impact rattling the metal drawers. “She’s not a flight risk!” Well, Alex is here. That took longer than expected.

“With all due respect agent, she can _literally_ fly.”

There’s a pause and Kara strains to hear Alex’s next words. They’re quiet, and the unmistakable desperation in them isn’t lost on Kara. “Can I at least see her?”

 

“Sign in here and someone will take you back.”

 

A few moments later Kara hears the creaking of the door to the cell block open followed by boots moving quickly down the corridor. She can’t bring herself to get up.

Alex appears in front of the cell a few second later. “Kara?”

She sounds afraid. Is Alex afraid of her too, now? Kara wouldn’t blame her. Kara can’t bring herself to look up and prove herself right. “Hey.”

Alex’s tone is gentle, reassuring. “Kara, hey, look at me.”

It’s the same tone she used when they were kids and Kara would wake up from a nightmare about the Phantom Zone. Kara remembers the terror of waking up in the middle of the night in the darkness of her bedroom. She was always reaching for something when she woke up, her mother maybe? Kara doesn’t know. But Alex was always there, steady and sure, bringing her back to Earth. Her sister would turn on a light and climb into Kara’s bed, whispering words of reassurance, holding her until she was able to fall back asleep. Kara wishes it were still that simple, that Alex could hug her and tell her this has all been a bad dream.

Kara looks up then. Alex’s hands are wrapped around the cell bars, a barrier Kara herself has created. Alex’s voice is reassuring but her eyes betray her concern. Kara knows that not even her sister, who has always been Kara’s own personal hero, can fix this for her.

She’s not surprised that Alex has come here to try though. Alex has been trying for her as long as Kara has been on Earth. So much of what Kara knows about being human, about how to live in this world, she’s learned from Alex. Alex was always there to listen, to give advice, to protect her. She helped Kara learn to calibrate her strength, to manage the potentially dangerous effects of her powers.

But Kara has to do that for herself now. The mantel, the costume, the very name of _Supergirl_ means she has to do it on her own. When she’s on a mission there’s no one there to make her slow down, to force her to hold back in a fight. J’onn and Alex sent her out to that construction site because they trusted her judgment and she let them down.

It shouldn’t have happened. Kara should have been more careful. All these years she’s walked a careful tightrope between the way that she needs to behave to fit in with humans and the powers that make her capable of being a hero. It didn’t always feel so difficult to balance, but Kara has felt far from steady with everything that’s happened in the past few months.

Knowing that she can’t control those emotions makes the panic rise in Kara again. She doesn’t want to be like this, to feel like a loaded gun with no safety engaged. She looks up at Alex, at the most constant thing she’s known across any galaxy.

“Kara, it’s ok, we’re going to get you out of here. We just need some time, ok?”

Kara can barely nod in response, tears beginning to fill her eyes. Alex always helped her shoulder the burden of her heritage and her secret. When Alex told her about Maggie, Kara realized that she had been so preoccupied with herself that she never stopped to consider that Alex might have needed to lean on her too. Since then she‘s wanted to show Alex that she’s strong enough to carry her own weight and still have some left over to support her sister. But Kara hadn’t accounted for the way the grief and anger would keep sitting just below the surface, disrupting her equilibrium. Today she finally lost her balance and fell, taking an innocent life down with her.

Kara wants to collapse, to cry, for Alex to hold her, but she knows she doesn’t deserve that comfort. Instead she sniffs back the tears threatening to fall and shoves herself to her feet. Alex reaches out to her through the bars and Kara instinctively reaches back.

The officer is beside Alex in an instant. “No physical contact with the prisoner.”

Alex’s open hand balls into a fist as she turns to the officer and for a moment Kara thinks she might punch him. Instead she withdraws her hand, composes herself, and turns to Kara.

“I’ll be back for you.”

“Okay.” The words barely come out as she watches the guard lead Alex away.

 -----------------------------------

 

II.

Lena leans against her kitchen counter, sipping her first espresso of the day. She eyes her phone but then picks up the nearby remote instead and turns on the TV. Work can wait until at least 7am.

The screen comes to life and Lena navigates to the morning news. The two anchors look somber, never a good sign for a morning show, and Lena turns up the volume.

_“A Northside woman is in critical condition this morning after what police believe to have been a hate crime.”_

_“The victim, Emma Williams, was walking home last night from a nearby bar where she works when an unknown male assailant followed her down the street before pulling her into an alley and attacking her with a metal pipe. Witnesses say they heard him yelling anti-Alien slurs before fleeing the scene…”_

Lena sighs and finishes her coffee. In the three days since Kara’s arrest, anti-alien sentiments have been on the rise and Lena isn’t surprised it’s escalated to violence. She saw the footage on the news that night. Kara fighting the aliens, Kara pulling the concrete off of Nick Waller’s body, Kara letting the police arrest her. The incident was obviously an accident, yet the public reaction to the event makes it clear that Cadmus and her mother aren’t the only people in National City who have a vendetta against aliens.

Lena would be worried for Kara on the streets but according to news outlets Supergirl is being held without bail by the National City Police. Lena can’t imagine how awful this must be for her. Lena knows would have never willingly put someone in harms way but she saw the way Kara handed herself over, despite Alex’s attempt to intervene. Kara looked defeated, lost. Lena would know: she’d seen similar shadows in Kara’s face the last time they’d met in her office.

Lena turns away from the TV and puts her coffee cup in the sink. She pours a glass of water and downs it, hoping it’ll drown her desire to call Alex Danvers and ask how Kara is doing. Lena is probably the last person Kara would want to hear from now.

The phone rings. Lena glances at the screen just before she answers. Jess.

“Hello?”

“Miss Luthor. Sorry to bother you so early.” Jess sounds nervous. That’s never a good sign.

“It’s fine Jess, what is it?”

“A call just came in from the FBI.”

Lena frowns. “What did they want?”

“You. Your mother wants to talk to you.”

Lena stands perfectly still, her mind turning over what her mother could be playing at.

“Miss Luthor? Are you there?”

Lena jolts back to the conversation at hand, clearing her throat. “Yes. I’m here.”

“What should I tell them?”

“Tell them I’ll come. I’ll meet you at the office in twenty minutes.”

Lena hangs up before Jess can respond. She tosses the phone on the counter and runs a hand through her hair.

“ _Shit_.”

\-----------------------------------

 

III.

When Lena enters the interrogation room at the federal special holding facility known as Enclave M, her mother is already seated at the single metal table in the center of the room. Despite the prison jumpsuit and cuffs, Lillian still holds herself with the poise of someone who considers themselves above their surroundings. Lena recognizes the set of her jaw, the relaxed but ambivalent posture; this is the only version of her mother Lena’s ever known, despite seeing something softer in moments with Lex when her mother thought no one was watching. Her mother has always had a gift for appearing at ease no matter how tumultuous the situation. Lena both envies and hates her for it.

Neither of them speak as Lena strides across the room, gracefully settling into the chair opposite her mother. Lillian fixes her with an appraising look. “How are things with the company?”

Lena isn’t interested in small talk and she knows her mother isn’t either. “Why am I here?”

Lillian ignores the bite behind the words. “I wanted to see how you were.”

Lena can’t help but scoff at that. “Really mom, I think we’re past these kinds of pretenses now, don’t you?”

Lillian sits up impossibly straighter. “We are.” She pauses and Lena sees something that looks almost like regret pass quickly over her stern features. “I wanted to apologize. I should have told you sooner, brought you into Cadmus earlier. Maybe then you would have understood why we needed the isotope.”

Lena keeps her face neutral. _An apology? What is she playing at?_ “There is nothing you could have told me that would have made me help you commit a genocide. What you and Cadmus were trying to do was wrong.”

“Perhaps. Do you think Nick Waller would have agreed?”

Lena isn’t surprised her mother has informants on the outside. She wonders if they’re Cadmus, if they’ve taken a special interest in Kara. The prospect is chilling and Lena can’t help but feel like she needs to defend her. “That was a tragic accident. Supergirl isn’t a murderer. ”

“No, if she was you’d have been dead on that warehouse rooftop.”

“She wouldn’t kill me.”

“She should have.”

Lena doesn’t return the jab. She never considered the possibility that Kara might actually kill her. She thinks of the fear on Kara’s face as she turned the launch key; there’s no way Kara could have known that Lena had switched out the isotope. Even facing certain death, Kara hadn’t moved to use her powers against her. _Why?_

Lillian is watching her closely now. “Maybe I’ve never been the mother you wanted but I have always seen your potential, Lena. I would hate to see something happen to you because you’re blinded by your bleeding heart. Your brother trusted the wrong people, let their betrayal cloud his judgment, and it destroyed him.”

Lena crosses her arms. “I’m not Lex. I’m not even a Luthor, remember?”

Lillian rolls her eyes and sits back but Lena refuses to drop the subject. “And what Lex was doing, what _you_ wanted to do, it is madness.”

Lillian leans forward, her eyes cold. “We were trying to make the world safe for everyone, for _you._ I know you care about humanity, about making the world better—“

“Yes, and so does Supergirl. Unlike you, she’s here to help, not to cause chaos and pain through insane acts of terror!”

The words came out louder than Lena had meant them to, and in the heavy silence that follows Lena curses. She came here to find out what her mother’s game is and now she fears she’s shown her own hand.

Lillian looks at her with pity and Lena bites the inside of her cheek so hard she can taste blood. Lillian’s voice is softer when she speaks. “Whatever it is you think you’re doing with Supergirl, it will _never_ get you what you want. It will only end in heartbreak or worse.”

Lena looks away. She’s told herself the same thing a dozen times in the last few weeks. “I didn’t think you cared.”

Lillian sighs. “Oh course I care. Supergirl has more enemies than you know and if you keep going like this, they’ll have to be your enemies too.”

Beneath the carefully crafted tone of maternal concern, Lena detects a hint of a threat. So that’s why her mother wanted to see her: not out of some concern for her feelings or her happiness, but to determine whether Lena might still come to her side of this insane ideological war. She looks her mother dead in the eye. “Does that include you, mom?”

Lillian doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t look away. _I’ll take that as a yes_. Lena gets up. “We’re done here.”

She doesn’t look back as the guard slams the door shut behind her.

\-----------------------------------

 

IV.

Lena storms into L-Corp with hardly a passing glance to her employees scurrying out of the way as she heads for her office. She closes the door and paces across the room, fighting the urge to throw something.

How dare her mother summon her for some sort of lecture about decision making when she and her beloved son are both going to be spending the rest of their lives in prison for their own ego-driven mistakes. And to play the regretful absent parent while threatening her in the same turn? The hypocrisy of it all sends Lena straight to her office wine fridge. She pulls out a bottle of Barbaresco and pours liberally into the nearest wine glass.

Lena sips slowly, letting the dark spice notes of the wine open onto her tongue. She reflects on Lillian’s warning about aligning herself with Kara. Lena thinks of the time she’s spent with Kara and with Supergirl, how different and yet the same they are. Supergirl makes her feel like she’s capable of being a better woman than her name implies. Kara makes her feel like a human being, like she doesn’t have to be perfect in every moment of her life. And when it mattered most Kara had believed in her, made her feel like she could take on anything, including her mother.

Lillian’s appeal at the prison fell flat because she assumes that Lena and Kara are just like Lex and Superman, just using one another to their own ends. Lena realizes now how close she came to falling into the same trap. All this time Lena had been caught up in her own feelings, not thinking of what an incredible risk Kara took in exposing her identity to Lena. Kara had supported her, trusted her, and Lena had repaid her with rejection.

The full reality of how badly she’s handled the situation crashes down on Lena and she quickly drains the rest of her glass before pouring another. Her phone beeps and Lena taps the screen to see an email from Cynthia. There’s no subject line but the body of the email has links to news stories about anti-alien sentiments in National City, followed by a brief message from Cynthia.

_“_ _We should go to market with the detector immediately. Will have projected mass market sales to you by COB. -C”_

Lena looks at the message. She thinks of Kara’s face as she submitted to the police at the construction site, of the smiling photo of Emma Williams on the morning news. When Lena conceived of the detector she had envisioned something that would help people feel protected, but now she worries that it only lead to more violence, maybe even death. But Cynthia is right: investors will expect the product to go to market. Lena needs to come up with an alternative buyer fast.

She taps one of the links and reads the first story. Lena scrolls through it, most of it is familiar. She pauses near the bottom, where the author features a partial quote from the National City Chief of Police.

_“We stand ready to do whatever is necessary to protect the citizens of National City.”_

And then it hits her. Lena puts down her glass and rushes across the office to Jess’s desk, still clutching her phone. The other woman looks up, startled at Lena’s sudden appearance. Lena doesn’t give her a chance to speak.

“I need you to get me a meeting with the Chief of Police.”

Jess picks up the phone. “That’ll be difficult to arrange with everything that’s happened. What should I tell him the meeting is regarding?”

“Supergirl.”

Jess hesitates but Lena just looks at her expectantly.

“I’ll let you know when it’s scheduled.”

Lena nods her thanks and then heads back to her office. She sits down behind her desk and begins firing off emails to her contracting department, to Zach, and to Cynthia. Her brother was blinded by his fear and in the end it ruined him. But Lena knows now that she’s not afraid of Kara and she’s certainly not afraid of her mother’s threats. She is her own woman whether she’s a Luthor or not, and now she’s going to prove it.

\-----------------------------------

 

V.

National City’s police headquarters aren’t far from L-Corp’s offices so Lena arrives for her meeting with the chief a few minutes early. An officer shows her to a seat outside the chief’s office and Lena settles in for what she hopes isn’t a going to be very long delay. She sets her bag on her lap and drums her fingers lightly on the arm of the chair, trying not to appear anxious or overeager. She’s not accustomed to having to wait for a meeting, especially one in which the stakes are so high.

Lena closes her eyes and releases a small sigh, willing herself to relax.

“Miss Luthor, good to see you again. I’m sorry for making you wait, it’s been a crazy week.”

The chief appears from seemingly nowhere, and Lena can’t get to her feet fast enough.

“Chief Rodriguez, thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”

He smiles and opens the office door, ushering her inside. Lena takes a seat in front of the large desk and Rodriguez settles himself in opposite her.

“Before I forget, let me thank you again for the donations to the NCPD charity auction. It really made a difference for us this year with the budget cuts.”

“It was my pleasure, truly.” Since arriving in National City Lena has done everything she can to foster good will between herself and the city’s law enforcement, hoping to set herself apart from her brother’s legacy of institutional mistrust and conflict. She briefly wonders if what she’s about to do will make all of that effort be for naught.

The chief leans back, twirling a pen in his hand. “So what’s this about Supergirl you wanted to talk about?”

Lena folds her hands in her lap. “I’ve been following the news since her arrest, the public response is concerning.”

A shadow crosses over Rodriguez’s face. He looks tired. “People are scared. Can’t really blame them but some of this is just nuts.”

“Having Supergirl in custody must surely make them feel better.” The thought of Kara in prison has Lena’s stomach in knots but she fights to keep her tone light.

Rodriguez puts down the pen. “Honestly, I don’t think it makes a lick of difference. Some people just wanted an excuse to act up, you know?

Lena certainly knows that better than most. “I do. Your force certainly has its hands full out there.”

Rodriguez shrugs. “We do the best we can but this is a tough situation. When aliens are involved, we’re kind of out of our depth. But like I said, people are scared so we have to at least look like we have a handle on things until someone figures out how to make this calm down.”

Lena smiles, sensing her opening. “I have something I think will help with that.”

She reaches into her bag and pulls out the same detector prototype she’d shown to Kara. She places it on the desk in front of Rodriguez. He leans forward but doesn’t pick it up.

“What is it?”

Lena turns the device on, the display screen lights up green. “It’s an alien detection device. Scan the thumb and the device will tell you if the person is human or not. It’s the first of a new line of technology from L-Corp designed to identify and help neutralize alien threats.”

That last part isn’t exactly true, Lena destroyed most of Lex’s old files and shut down the rest of his projects when she took over the company, but Chief doesn’t need to know that. All he needs to know is that Lena has something that can make his job easier, and make him look good in the process.

Rodriguez picks it up and studies it carefully. “Just the thumb print? It’s really that simple?”

Lena performs the same demonstration she conducted with Kara and Rodriguez seems satisfied when he presses his thumb to the small pad and the display glows green.

Lena sits back and retrieves the proposal she drew up with Zach from her bag. “It’s not on the market yet. I came here because I want to offer your department an exclusive deal on them.”

Rodriguez doesn’t attempt to hide his surprise as she hands him the proposal. He puts down the detector carefully and starts to flip through it. “It would be nice if we could actually have an idea what we’re dealing with when we pick somebody up. I appreciate you bringing this to me, Miss Luthor, especially with everything going on now.”

Lena smiles. “I think this technology could go a long way towards building trust between the department and the people of National City on handling our most…unusual criminals.”

“It would certainly make it safer for my guys on the street.” Rodriguez flips through the proposal once more and then sets it aside as though he’s come to a decision. “Can you send this to me electronically? I’d like to have legal look over it so I can sign off. With everything going on I’d want to get these out to my people ASAP.”

This is even easier than Lena thought it would be. “If you’re ready to move forward, I’ll have the paperwork to you this afternoon.”

Rodriguez smiles at Lena. “Thank you, Miss Luthor. This could save lives.”

He stands and so does Lena. She moves slowly to pick up her bag and the detector prototype.

She chooses her next words carefully. “Chief Rodriguez, there’s one other thing I wanted to speak to you about.”

Rodriguez nods, hands in his pockets, unconcerned about whatever Lena might be about to say.

“I’ll give you the detectors, the best technical support L-Corp can provide, and my continued political and financial commitment to supporting the department.” She swallows, her heart is in her throat. It’s now or never. “In return I want you to tell the District Attorney to drop the charges against Supergirl.”

Rodriguez sits back down, clearly shocked at Lena’s request. “Miss Luthor, listen, we all love Supergirl and what happened was really a shame, but this isn’t Metropolis. We don’t cut deals like that in National City.”

Lena expected this. She briefly thinks of her mother: cold, calculating, always one step ahead. She may not have paid much attention to Lena, but that didn’t mean Lena hadn’t spent her whole life watching her.

“I understand.” Lena calmly sits back down, careful to keep her expression placid. “I’m in a difficult position here. My investors expect this product to go to market. They want me to release it to the public, make it so widely available people could pick one up on their way home from the grocery store. I told them I wanted to offer it to you first because I know we all value the work your department does.”

Rodriguez’s face is hard. “I won’t accept a bribe.”

Lena fights the urge to roll her eyes. “A bribe? I’ve offered you a formal business agreement, a partnership in fighting the dangerous criminals in this city. You said yourself that holding Supergirl wasn’t helping the situation. My technology can.”

Rodriguez still doesn’t look sold. Lena didn’t want it to come to this, but she’s gone too far to turn back now. She won’t let Kara rot in prison over some misguided if well-meaning political posturing.

“If you’re not interested, then I have no choice but to do as my investors want and allow the detector to go public. Once that happens, it’ll take all the manpower and rudimentary resources you have to try and stem the endless tide of hate crimes and reprisal killings. We both know Emma Williams was only the first. Have you even confirmed that she was an alien?”

Rodriguez is nearly shaking with anger now. “You would put this out there _now_? With everything that’s happened? You Luthors really are a piece of work.”

There was a time when the insult would have hurt, but not anymore. Lena feels nothing as she looks Rodriguez dead in the eye, her voice hard. “L-Corp isn’t a charitable organization. I need to put this product to market. How that happens, and what it means for our city, is up to you.”

There’s a long pause and Lena suddenly realizes she’s holding her breath. She wonders if she’s made a terrible mistake but then Rodriguez looks away, suddenly deflating. “Unlike you, I won’t risk the lives of the people of this city. I’ll make the call.”

Lena stands, trying not to let the relief show in her face. “I’m glad we could reach an agreement. This city needs Supergirl.”

Rodriguez doesn’t say anything as he walks to the door and opens it. Lena starts to walk past him out into the hall but Rodriguez stops her with a hand on her arm. “This city may need Supergirl, but I don’t think it needs you.”

Lena really doesn’t care what Rodriguez thinks as long as he makes the call to get Kara released. She gracefully steps away from him and into the busy hallway. “I’ll have my people send a copy of the agreement to your legal department. Have a nice day.”

With that Lena turns on her heel and strides triumphantly down the hall towards the exit. She pulls out her phone as she opens the door. Cynthia is going to kill her.

\-----------------------------------

VI.

It’s late in the evening when a guard shows up at Kara’s cell, wordlessly unlocking the door. Kara stands as the door swings open and the officer gestures for her to step out.

Kara looks at them cautiously as she steps out. “Where are we going?”

“You’re getting released. Don’t see any point in cuffing you so just follow me.”

The officer closes the cell door behind her with a bang and leads her down the hall. After stopping briefly to sign some paperwork, the officer leads her down another corridor to what looks like a fire exit. The door opens to a secluded parking lot where Kara sees Alex and J’onn waiting.

The officer nods to J’onn and Alex. “Paperwork’s done. She’s all yours.”

They disappear back into the interior of the jail and before Kara can say anything Alex pulls her into a hug. “Hey, you ok?”

Kara steps back and avoids Alex’s eyes. She doesn’t want to lie and Alex won’t understand the truth. “Why are they letting me out?”

J’onn steps forward, pulling an arm around her shoulders as they walk to his DEO vehicle. “What happened was an accident. The city decided to drop the charges because they knew it was the right thing to do.”

He opens the door for Kara but she hesitates. “The right thing to do? I killed someone.”

Kara sees Alex and J’onn exchange a look. “What? It’s true.”

Alex gives her what is surely meant to be a reassuring look, but Kara can tell she’s worried by the way she’s working her jaw. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

\-----------------------------------

VII.

In the four days since her release, Kara has hardly left her couch. The morning news program is covering another hate crime, this time against a teacher at a local school. It seems the assailants were convinced he was an alien but police believe he was just a well-meaning human whose public support for alien rights made him a target. Kara can’t help but think this is another senseless death on her hands. How many more before this nightmare ends?

There’s a bang at her door and Kara gets up slowly, suddenly feeling lightheaded. She can’t remember the last time she’s eaten. She looks through the door to see Alex on the other side.

She opens the door with a sigh. “You don’t have to come by every day. I’m fine.”

Alex walks into the apartment purposefully. She immediately walks over to the TV and turns it off.

Kara sighs. “I was watching that.”

Alex puts her hands on her hips and fixes Kara with a glare that makes her unsure whether it’s Alex or a younger Eliza standing in her living room. “I know what you’re doing and this has to stop.”

Kara looks away, following Alex into the living room. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be right now? Where’s Maggie?” She tries to pick up the remote but Alex snatches it away from her.

“Kara, stop. I know you feel guilty about what happened, but this isn’t going to make it better.”

Kara throws up her hands. Alex really just doesn’t get it. “People don’t want Supergirl. Haven’t you been paying attention? They’re out there trying to kill each other because of what I did.”

“Kara. There have always been people who’ve let hate and fear drive their actions, Cadmus didn’t come out of nowhere. This was going on started in this city a long time before what happened at the construction site. People need you, they need Supergirl. You can’t hide in your apartment forever.”

Kara shrugs. She knows Alex is right, but it doesn’t assuage her guilt or the gnawing feeling of helplessness that’s been keeping her up at night. She sits down.

“If I go out there, I have to _be_ someone. If I’m just Kara I can fit in but I can’t help anyone. If I’m Supergirl, how do I know I won’t make things worse? I can’t risk hurting someone again.”

Alex sits down beside her on the couch. She’s quiet for a moment and studying her profile, Kara thinks Alex looks as helpless as she feels. But when Alex turns to look at her, Kara only sees determination and love. “Maybe you should talk to Clark. Get out of National City for a few days.”

Kara jumps up from the couch, feeling the tears pricking behind her eyes. “No. I have to be here. I can’t just run away from my mistakes.”

Alex stands. She wipes a tear from Kara’s cheek and pulls her into a hug. “You’ve never run from anything, Kara.” When Alex pulls back Kara sees the tears in her sister’s eyes and right now she would do anything to keep Alex from crying.

“Alex, hey, I’m sorry. I’ll figure it out.”

Alex shakes her head and puts her hands on Kara’s shoulders, looking her in the eye. “You’re always trying to be so strong Kara, but we both know you know you can’t go on like this. I see how sad you are and I just want to make it better but I know that this time I can’t. So if I can’t help you, please go talk to someone who can.”

Kara nods. She can’t keep doing this to Alex. She picks up her phone and opens a new message to Clark.

 

\-----------------------------------

VIII.

Kara sits atop a crest on the Kelso Dunes, watching the clouds float across the late afternoon sky. She left National City hours ago but hasn’t made it further east than the Mojave Desert. She wants to go home, to hide in her apartment, but she made a promise to Alex and Clark is expecting her.

Kara sighs and looks out over the endless expanse of sand. Earth’s sun is setting, throwing the last of its light skyward in streams of pink and violet. Kara watches the colors change, the sky shift from pink to orange to red. For a moment she can pretend it’s the light of Rao, of Krypton’s red sun.

Sometimes she envies Clark that he doesn’t remember Krypton. Kara carries the memories behind her ribs like a giant weight hanging from the ventricles of her heart. She wonders what it would feel like to not remember, to not mourn. She tries to imagine that lightness, but the red streaking across the sky looks like the blood under Nick’s body and Kara feels like lying down and sinking deep into the shifting sand.

Instead she picks up a handful of sand and watches it run through her fingers. It’s just a shade lighter than the dirt on Krypton. She can hear her mother’s voice telling her Nick’s death would be ruled an accident, but it rings hollow. All these years Kara had wondered what her parents would think, what they would do if they were in her shoes. But she’s no lawyer, no scientist, and her red boots are meant for her feet alone.

Darkness creeps over the rolling hills of sand as the sun finally drops below the horizon. Kara contemplates following it, flying as far as she can into the darkness, back to the Phantom Zone. She slept in that deep space for 24 years and now she wonders what it would be like to die there, like the others her mother had sent to Fort Rozz.

Her mind wanders to Astra. Kara thinks about her aunt more than any of the others now. She knows Astra would tell her there are always casualties when fighting for a cause, that her path isn’t an easy one. Astra wasn’t afraid to make sacrifices, to do whatever it took to save their world. She should have been a hero but she’ll be remembered as a murderer. Kara wonders if she’ll share the same fate.

She knows Astra is with her mother now, dwelling in Rao’s light. But for Kara the war isn’t over. She still wears the uniform, and she still fights. She hears a voice in her head telling her to get up. She doesn’t know if it’s her mother or Astra, but it doesn’t matter. Kara swallows her sorrow and she stands. With a final look to the dying day, she squares her shoulders and turns east into the darkness towards Metropolis.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2017! 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy this long chapter, please consider leaving a comment to let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While visiting Clark in Metropolis, a chance encounter helps Kara find her way.

 

I.

 

Kara glides to a stop on Clark’s balcony and moves to the door. She tries the handle and frowns, surprised to find it’s unlocked. She really needs to talk to Clark about security. Kara slips inside, just as the front door opens. She freezes, unsure if she should leave or not. She knows she’s late and if Clark made other plans with Lois, Kara really doesn’t want to intrude. But then Clark walks in alone, balancing a stack of pizzas in one hand and his keys in the other. He cocks an eyebrow at her. “Hey. I was about to text you. What took so long?”

 

Kara isn’t ready to talk about _that_ , so she deflects. “There was traffic.”

 

Clark rolls his eyes as he sets the pizza on the counter, nudging the box towards Kara. “You almost missed dinner.”

 

As if on cue, Kara’s stomach growls. She realizes that this is the first time in days that she’s been even remotely hungry. She walks towards the counter as Clark flips open the box and gets her a plate down from the cabinet.

 

Kara barely has the plate in hand before she’s lifting two pieces of pizza out of the top box. “You got my favorite! Clark, you’re the best.”

 

Clark smiles and heads to the table, Kara close behind. “You made a cross continental flight to visit, figured it was the least I could do.”

 

Kara sits down opposite him, devouring most of the first slice before speaking. “Flying makes me so hungry.”

 

Clark nods as he takes a bite from one of his slices. “Last month I had to go all the way to Hawaii to help Aquaman with some weird water monster. I was so hungry by the time I got there I just flew straight to the nearest McDonald’s in Honolulu.” He chuckles as he dusts the crumbs off his hands. “Eating five Big Macs and then wrestling a water serpent wasn’t my best idea.”

 

Kara laughs. “That sounds awful.”

 

Clark shrugs and smiles at Kara. “That’s the Justice League.”

 

They make small talk over the rest of the pizza. When Kara mentions Lois she can’t help but notice the way Clark’s face lights up. She remembers when Clark was in National City and Lois would call just to make sure he was ok. Kara thinks about checking her own phone but knows there won’t be any messages from Lena. She tries to be happy for Clark, but sometimes it’s hard when it seems like there just isn’t ever going to be someone like that for her.

 

Kara sighs, tossing her crust back onto her plate. She looks up. Clark is gazing at her with concern evident in the set of his lips and the crinkles at the corners of his eyes. “You ok?” he asks.

 

Kara’s first instinct is to lie but then she remembers the tears in Alex’s eyes when she told her that she needed to go talk to someone who would understand. Kara thought Alex was right, that Clark would be the one person in the world who would get it.  But now that she’s here Kara thinks this may have been a mistake. When Kara looks at Clark she sees everything she wants to be and isn’t: beloved superhero, great journalist, boyfriend of the year. Meanwhile, Kara’s mistakes have seen Supergirl disgraced in National City and she’d hardly call herself a great journalist. Her attempts at dating have all failed spectacularly and after what happened with Lena, Kara is pretty sure she’s just going to be alone forever.

 

Clark clears his throat. Kara starts, realizes she hasn’t said anything, and tries to cover for her silence. He’s seen the news. She might as well tell him the truth. She looks at the table as she fiddles with her napkin, searching for the right words. “Do you ever wish you didn’t have powers?”

 

She looks up to see Clark frowning pensively. “You mean be like a human?”

 

Kara looks back down at her napkin, tearing it into pieces over her plate. “Yeah...or just, you know, not dangerous.”  

 

Clark puts a hand on Kara’s to stop her fidgeting. “Kara. It was an accident. You couldn’t have known he was there.”

 

Kara sits back. “I should have…” She trails off. She doesn’t know what she should have done, what she could have done differently, but there has to have been something.

 

Clark is looking at her harder now. “You did your best. You saved a lot of people.”

 

Kara stands to take her plate to the sink. Kara knows Clark is right, she’s heard the same things from Alex and even J’onn over the past few days. It doesn’t feel like enough.

 

Clark’s phone chimes and he stands to check the display. Kara assumes its Lois until she sees the frown on Clark’s face as he rapidly types out a response.  “Everything ok?”

 

When Clark turns to her she doesn’t expect him to look so excited. “I think I’ve got something that might help.”

 

He rushes to the table and grabs his plate, stepping around Kara to put his plate in the sink. Kara crosses her arms, unsure what’s going on. “Are you going to tell me what it is?”

 

Clark calls over his shoulder as he rushes from the room. “You’ll see. I’ve gotta change, we’re flying.”

 

\------------------------------ 

II.

 

Kara’s boots hit the ground with a soft thump. Clark hits the ground a few feet to her left, a cloud of white dirt billowing from beneath his feet.  “Clark, when you said we were flying I thought maybe we were meeting someone across town and trying to skip traffic, not going to the _moon_. What the hell is this place?”

 

Clark just laughs. “Come on.”

 

Before Kara can protest, Clark is marching off toward a squat building with a domed roof nearby. Kara thinks it looks oddly like an observatory, and it’s the only structure she can see as they walk across what appears to be an endless pockmarked grey desert.

 

They reach the building and Kara doesn’t see anything that looks like an entrance. “How do we get in?”

 

“Like this.” Clark stops in front of one of the panels on the exterior of the building, putting his palm against one of the small square plate in the panel. To Kara’s eyes it looks just like all the others, but with Clark’s hand pressed against it the plate suddenly glowsgreen. Clark steps back, motioning for Kara to do the same, and the panel slides away, revealing a plain-looking metal door. Clark smiles as he opens it, gesturing Kara inside. “Welcome to the headquarters of the Justice League.”

 

Kara comes to an abrupt stop. Whipping around to looks at Clark as he follows her inside. “ _This_ is where you guys meet?”

 

Clarke smiles as he leads her down a long corridor towards what looks like an atrium. “Yeah. Cool, right?”

 

Kara looks around the atrium, taking in the giant conference table and the massive windows looking out over Earth.

 

“Batman is waiting for you in the lab.”

 

Kara and Clark both turn to see a tall woman striding towards them. Kara is about to ask Clark who she is when her brain finally catches up with what her eyes are seeing. “Is that—”

 

Clark doesn’t give her an opportunity to finish. “Wonder Woman! I didn’t know you were up here.”

 

The woman gives Clark a dazzling smile as she comes to a stop in front of them. Kara takes in the familiar red and blue of her uniform, the shimmering gold of the lasso, the ripple of the muscles in Diana’s thighs as she shifts her weight back and forth…. _Rao have mercy._

 

“I had some free time so I came to do some maintenance on the jet.”

 

Clark gives her a skeptical look. “How? Isn’t it invisible?”

 

Wonder Woman rolls her eyes. “Only to the eyes of _man_.” Abruptly, her gaze shifts away from Clark to Kara, who is trying very hard not to stare. “Hello.”

 

Kara is aware that her mouth is moving but nothing comes out. Clark quickly steps in. “This is-”

 

Kara finally overcomes her shock enough to speak.  “I’m Supergirl. It’s an honor. I’ve been a fan since like, well, forever.”

 

Diana smiles at her. “I know who you are, Kara Zor-El. You can call me Diana.”

 

Kara’s suddenly feels really warm inside her suit. She needs to get a grip. “Diana. Right.”

 

Clark looks amused. “Well, I need to head to the lab for a few minutes. Kara, are you good here?”

 

Is Kara good? She’s standing next to Wonder Woman. If there’s something better than this Kara doesn’t know what it is. “I’m great!” Diana chuckles. _Shit. Be cool, be cool._ “I mean, yeah, I’m fine. I can...take in the view or something.”

 

Clark just shakes his head and turns towards one of the side hallways. “I’ll be back soon.”

 

And just like that, Kara is alone. With Wonder Woman. No big deal _. Be. Cool._

 

Diana gestures down a hallway in the opposite direction of where Clark went. “Is this your first time here?”

 

Kara has to pick up her pace to keep up with Diana’s long strides. “Yes. I’m usually in National City. On Earth.”   _Nailed it._

 

Diana just smiles and Kara gets the impression she’s not the first person to have trouble forming coherent thoughts in her presence. The hallway dead ends into another room with large windows. Kara notices the floor and walls are lightly padded. She follows Diana to the center of the room.

 

“I don’t know if your cousin told you, but our members don’t just come here for meetings. It’s one of the few places where we can train safely. Do you have such a place in National City?”

 

Kara scuffs the toe of her boot against the mat, crossing her arms to keep her hands from flying around the way she knows they always do when she’s nervous. “Like with other people like me? No. I can spar with humans in a room with Krypton diffusers, so no powers. It’s kind of frustrating. Mostly because my sister is like a ninja but yeah... Sometimes I get to fight government robot prototypes out in the desert, but that’s about it. Otherwise I’m just kind of on my own.”

 

Diana nods, then fixes her with a playful look. “Well, what would you say to sparring with someone a little stronger, Kara Zor-El?”

 

Kara thinks this must be a dream. “You and me? Now?”

 

Diana smirks. “Yes. Unless you’re afraid of an opponent who can hit back?”

 

Kara hesitates. She’s had no desire to use her powers since the accident, but there’s nothing in this room for her to damage or injure. She’s certainly not going to hurt Diana, whose triceps alone could probably cut diamonds. Not that Kara is looking. _Get it together._ Kara rolls her shoulders to get loose and then nods determinedly. “Let’s do it.”

 

Kara starts to move into a stance, Alex’s training now second nature. She doesn’t even have time to get her hands up before the force of Diana’s first punch knocks her clean across the room.

 

Kara’s ears are ringing but when she looks up Diana is grinning, beckoning her back with one hand. Kara shakes her head and springs to her feet. _Oh… This is going to be fun._ She smiles as she takes two steps and launches herself at Diana, fists colliding with Diana’s torso in rapid succession.

 

Diana staggers back slightly and the cocky smile is gone. Behind her raised fists Kara can still see laughter dancing in her eyes as she bounces on the balls of her feet, daring Kara to strike her again.

 

Kara swings hard, catching nothing but air as Diana ducks the blow and pops back up to land a light jab at Kara’s jaw. She’s incredibly fast. Kara manages to send her flying with a well-timed kick to the chest. Kara takes off like a bullet after her, but in the blink of an eye Diana is behind her, landing a hard hit to her back.

 

Kara stumbles and when she regains her balance she turns to see Diana standing near the far wall, looking far too amused. “Training with humans has made you slow.”

 

Kara pulls back her fist as she streaks across the room, her knuckles colliding with Diana’s face at the speed of sound. Diana hits the wall hard and bounces to the mat.

 

Kara feels a rush of satisfaction as she offers Diana a hand up. “Fast enough for you?”

 

Diana grins at her as she takes her hand. “Not bad, Kara Zor-El. You might have held your own against some of the youths of my home.” Then she yanks hard, sending Kara flying to the mat. “But you still have much to learn.”

 

Diana stands over her now, hands on her hips. The stance is open, confident, and Kara thinks the rumors that Diana was made by the gods must be true because there’s no way a human could ever look that good after getting punched in the face. “On Themyscira we trained from youth to condition our bodies for combat. But learning to control my gifts, to make them an asset instead of a hazard, took a different kind of discipline.”

 

Kara stands. “I can’t imagine that was very hard for you, you’re Wonder Woman.”

 

Diana gestures for Kara to follow her over to one of the giant windows that give the station a view of earth. Kara looks out, thinking of what this sort of view might have looked like if they were orbiting Krypton instead.

 

When Diana doesn’t speak Kara turns to look at her and finds Diana’s blue eyes searching her face. Fleetingly, Kara wonders if she has the power to read her thoughts. She wouldn’t be surprised, Diana seems like the type of woman who could do anything. “I know you lost your home, your family, before you came to Earth. I too lost something dear to me before I came to this world.”

 

Kara wonders what Diana is referring to. It’s common knowledge that Diana was sent to the human world from Themyscira as an emissary of the Amazons, the pride of her nation and favored daughter of their queen. Her story is inspiring, full of heroic exploits and things Kara herself aspires to be. So why does Diana look so sad?

 

Diana sighs. “As the daughter of the Queen I never wanted for anything. I had the best tutors and combat instructors on all of Themyscira, but I thought that I was different, that I knew better than them because the gods had blessed me with certain gifts. I did as I pleased and didn’t worry about the consequences. I fought monsters, rescued other Amazons, retrieved precious artifacts. Some I did out of a sense of duty but most just because I wanted the glory.”

 

Diana shifts, crossing her arms. Her eyes now fixed on Earth or some point farther out in space. She looks as though she’s cut from living marble, beautiful and indestructible. But when she speaks again her voice is quiet, soft.

 

“There was a young woman who cared for my mother’s horses, her name was Alethea. She wanted nothing to do with me so of course I wanted her. At first I thought it simply another conquest but Alethea was unlike anyone I’d ever met. She wasn’t impressed by my feats of daring or any of my gifts. She saw me for what I was: arrogant and cruel. So I tried to prove her wrong. I helped her around the stables, tried to show her that I was better than she believed. In time we became friends and I thought perhaps we could be more. I thought that if I was crowned champion at the Commemoration of Warriors, our games to celebrate the victories and sacrifice of our sisters across history, she would finally see that I was the one for her--that I was worthy.”

 

Kara knows this feeling too well. “What happened?”

 

“I wore a mask to compete anonymously, as is the custom for participants in the games, and though I thought myself superior in every way, I was bested in some events. The final event was a chariot race and I knew I had to win or someone else would be crowned and my chance with Alethea would be gone.  I led for most of the race but was boxed in by two others near the finish line. I needed a distraction so I used one of the artifacts I’d recovered, a serpent horn, to call forth beasts from the underworld to distract the other riders.”

 

Diana lets her arms drop to her sides, the corners of her mouth tugging downward as she goes on. “It was chaos: people running as all the warriors tried to fend off the beasts. I joined in the fight, but not before making sure I won the race. I was nearly bested by one of the creatures when another competitor saved me. She fell in my defense, and by the time it was over the streets of the city were soaked in the blood of my people. I looked for Alethea everywhere but she was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t until the dead warriors were unmasked that I saw that it was she who had saved me, had died for my foolish pride. I was banished from Themyscira to atone for my crimes and every day since I have tried to be the woman Alethea was: kind, compassionate, worthy of someone’s admiration.”

 

Kara thinks of Nick Waller, of how the weight of his death has felt so heavy these last few days. She tries to imagine being responsible for Alex’s death, for Lena’s. She doesn’t know how Diana was able to go on.

 

“I’m so sorry. Losing her must have been awful.”

 

Diana’s smile is sad. “It was. I have lost others over the years: friends, innocent people in the wrong place at the wrong time. I use my gifts to honor all of their memories.”

 

Kara thinks. “Can you teach me?”

 

Diana’s eyes search her face and Kara suddenly feels exposed, like Diana can see every part of her. She expects judgment, but Diana’s expression remains soft. “I think there is much you already know. Perhaps more than you think.”

 

Kara looks down at her suit, at the coat of arms of the House of El. Diana is right, she has tried to honor her family. She worries it isn’t enough. “I killed someone. It was an accident, but my powers…” Kara looks up at Diana. “He’s dead and it’s my fault.”

 

Diana’s gaze is sympathetic. “The loss of a life is a terrible burden to carry. When I first left Themyscira I begged the gods to kill me, to take away that pain.”

 

Kara thinks of Rao, of how alone she feels under a strange yellow star.  “Did they answer?”

 

Diana smiles wryly. “Not as I would have liked. But in time I learned to forgive myself, and this is the greatest gift I could have been given.”

 

Kara doesn’t understand. “Krypton is gone, my gods are dead.”

 

Diana nods, looking back out over Earth. “Do you know the humans say that my gods were created in their own image, to be mirrors of the many facets of humanity, good and bad? They say it is the heroes, not the gods, who represent the best we can be.”

 

Kara is familiar with the stories. She thinks of how strange it would be to read about her own gods that way.  “Do you think that’s true? The hero part?”

 

Diana turns back to Kara. “I think people look to us to give them hope.”

 

Kara’s face falls. She’s already failed to do that. “What if we try and it isn’t good enough?”

 

Diana puts a hand on Kara’s shoulder. The touch is warm, reassuring. “We do our best and when we falter we must draw on the strength of the ones we love to find the courage to try again. We have the power to do things no one else can. We may not always succeed, but a hero must always try.”   

 

Kara thinks of what Alex said before she left National City, that people need Supergirl. For the last week Kara has thought of nothing except her failure, but Diana is right: she has to try again. Alex and J’onn still believe in her. Lena’s rejection still stings, but Kara knows she can’t let her emotions make her so careless again. She’ll show Lena and the rest of National City that she can still be a hero truly worthy of them.

 

She smiles gratefully at Diana but before she can say anything Clark walks in from the lab. “Sorry, that took longer than expected.”

 

Diana smiles at him as he approaches. “I’m surprised you made it out. I usually just take a nap in the back while Batman goes on and on.”

 

Clark rolls his eyes as he reaches them. “He’s not that bad. What’ve you guys been up to?”

 

Kara tries to look casual. “We just sparred a little. You know, the usual stuff.”

 

Diana smiles. “She has potential. She certainly hits harder than you do.”

 

Clark laughs and Diana winks at Kara. Kara feels her whole body flush and lifts a hand to nervously fix her hair. She hopes the next time she sees Diana she’ll have some control over these embarrassing reactions.  “Clark can we go now? I need to get back to National City.”

 

Clark looks surprised. His eyes move from Kara, to Diana, and then back again. He nods. “Sure. See you around Diana.”

 

Diana crosses her arms and rocks back onto her heels. “Of course.” She turns to Kara. “We should spar again sometime if you’re up for it. ”

 

Kara feels the pride swell in her chest and fights to keep the grin off of her face. Wonder Woman wants to be her sparring partner. She can’t wait to tell Alex. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

 

Diana smiles. “Good, your cousin has my number. See you around, Supergirl.”

 

She and Clark turn towards the exit. Clark nudges her shoulder playfully. “So, she’s pretty great, right?”

 

Kara sighs dreamily as she and Clark turn to walk towards the exit.  “She’s amazing.”

 

Clark smirks. “You know you’re still blushing, right?”

 

Kara shoves him and runs a hand through her hair. “Shut up.”

 

She can still hear Clark’s laughter as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. When he banks east towards Metropolis, Kara doesn’t follow. Instead she swoops west, home to National City.

  
  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The origin story Diana tells about Alethea is from Jill Thompson's gorgeous graphic novel Wonder Woman: The True Amazon (2016). I have paraphrased it here to the best of my ability but it's well worth the read for both the narrative and the art. 
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, it was a blast to write. As always, comments are appreciated and keep me motivated to post more!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time and changes.

\-----------------------------------------

I.

The south side of National City is full of old factories and buildings braced by steel catwalks and rail lines. They serve as reminders of when the city was primarily an industrial port rather than a hub for media and technology across the West Coast. Now it's largely forgotten, steel rusting and buildings abandoned.

It’s not a part of town Lena frequents, but when Cynthia asked to meet at a neighborhood coffee shop, Lena knew better than to blow her off. If Cynthia wanted to meet outside the office on a Saturday, surely it was about something important.

Lena turns the corner onto a mostly run-down and abandoned street. Cynthia is standing on the sidewalk in front of the shop, two cups in hand. She hands one of them to Lena when she approaches. “Morning.”

“Morning.”

Cynthia takes a sip of her coffee and motions up the street. “Let’s walk.”

Lena falls into step beside her, picking her way around the trash littering the asphalt. “You know, if you wanted to get coffee there are a lot of more…scenic places closer to National City Park.”

Cynthia nods as they cross the street onto the next block. “I know. We’re not here for the scenery.”

Lena frowns. “Then why _are_ we here?”

“I’ve been thinking about the detector deal—“

Lena huffs. It’s been more than a week but she’s fairly sure her right ear is still ringing from Cynthia’s yelling over the phone when Lena called her after the meeting with Rodriguez. “I know you don’t agree but I don’t need to hear it again. Especially not on my day off.”

“You and I both know it was a brash decision. But I think it may have been the right one.”

 _Well, this is unexpected._ “Weren’t you the one who said it could cripple our stocks?”

Cynthia rolls her eyes. “I’m sure you’ve been watching the market and you know as well as I do that they’re holding just fine.” She pauses. “It’s still too soon to say if it’s right for the company in the long term, but I do think it was right for _you_.”

“Why’s that?” Cynthia doesn’t even know why she really did it; Lena didn’t tell a soul about her plans before the meeting with Rodriguez.

They reach an intersection and Cynthia gestures to the right, down a side street. “When you called to tell me you’d made the deal I asked you why you did it and you told me that it was because it was the right thing to do for National City. I’ll admit I was too pissed off at the time to really care, but I’ve been wondering what you meant by that.”

Lena should have expected that. Cynthia is far too sharp to allow Lena to slide such a vague statement under her nose without questioning it. “When I created that tech I did it because I thought people had a right to know if there were aliens in their community. That it would make them safer, more aware of the risks of cohabitation. But now I watch the news every morning and I’m not sure who’s more dangerous: the alien trying to fit in or the human with a metal pipe and an anger problem. I don’t want L-Corp technology to be a tool for mindless hate and I don’t want National City to become what Lex tried to make Metropolis.”

Cynthia stops and looks at her for a long moment. “Do you know why I came with you to National City?”

Lena pauses, mid-stride. Perhaps she’s read Cynthia all wrong, maybe she agrees with Lex’s ideas. Cynthia had never expressed an opinion about it and Lena had never thought to ask. Now worry creeps through her like an oil slick across a puddle, doubt as insidious as the worst of Lex’s plots. Cynthia’s stare is intense. It throws her; makes Lena uncomfortable enough to try to lighten the mood. “Because you thought I couldn’t handle the company by myself?”

Cynthia snorts. “No, I knew you were more than capable.” She starts to walk again, leading Lena on down the street. “I know how hard you tried to reach your brother, to turn his work towards something good. You’ve always cared about helping people and I came because I believe that you can, that this company can, be something better than it ever was in Metropolis.”

Cynthia’s words remind Lena of what Kara, or Supergirl ( _is there a difference?_ ), said to her the night Cadmus planned to release the Medusa virus. Kara believed that Lena was better than her family name, than her brother’s mistakes. Apparently Cynthia does too. The rush of pride at that is unexpected, and Lena finds herself holding her head a little higher. “I’m trying. I think the detector was the first step.”

Cynthia nods. “I know. Normally I would be opposed to the police getting their hands on something like this, but Rodriguez seems to have his head on straight and at least now its use will be regulated.”

“It was the best I could do.”

“I know.” Cynthia slows to stop in front of one of the buildings. “Here we are.”

She’d been so involved in their conversation that she hadn’t been paying much attention to where Cynthia was leading her. Lena takes a moment to gather her bearings, looking around the desolate street before coming back to Cynthia. Cynthia points to a red sign reading “Alien Refugee Relief Agency (ARRA)” beside its metal doors.

Lena frowns. “I didn’t know National City had anything like this. How did you know this place was here?”

Cynthia gives her a sideways look. “My people were slaves in this country once and I’m old enough to remember what it was like to not have rights, to be afraid of what people might do to you on the street. I’m here every weekend.”

 _Of course she is._ It never occurred to Lena that Cynthia might have put her own feelings aside for the good of the company, or for her. The shame of that realization makes Lena want to disappear beneath the jagged cracks in the sidewalk . “Right. I’m sorry.”

Cynthia smiles and puts a hand on Lena’s shoulder. “You Luthors may be brilliant but you don’t know everything. Your brother always made the mistake of thinking he was above everyone. But his biggest downfall wasn’t his ego: it was his ignorance. I can’t do much about your ego, but I thought we could work on the other part. I know the woman who runs this place. She can show you around, give you an idea of how the other side lives in this city. Just a quick meeting.”

Cynthia proposes it casually, but this isn’t a typical business meeting to talk about an L-Corp product or a deal. She looks back at the sign, at the word “alien” in bold red letters. Who knows who might be in there? If Cynthia’s been there then surely it can’t be dangerous, but Lena’s seen a lot the monstrous things in this city since she arrived. But where there were monsters there was also Supergirl—brave and steadfast, never failing to save the day. She takes a deep breath. “All right.”

 

\-----------------------------------------

II.

The lobby of the ARRA is like any other small business office Lena has ever been in, but the walls are lined with various posters in languages Lena has never seen before. She steps up to the reception desk, where a teenage boy taps away on a computer. Lena wonders if he’s an alien. He looks human enough, but she’s been fooled before.

He hardly looks up as Cynthia and Lena approach, eyes focused intensely on the screen in front of him. “Welcome to the ARRA. How can I help you?”

“I thought Kori told you no more gaming on the work computers? ”

The boy starts, finally turning his attention to his guests. “Cynthia! Hey! ”

Cynthia smiles at him. “Hello, Jack. I’ve brought a friend this week. This is Lena.”

Jack thrusts out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Lena takes it. Jack’s handshake is enthusiastic, if lacking in the professional touch Lena is used to. “You too.”

Jack turns back to Cynthia. “Are you here for the tutoring session? The kids are in the usual room, my sister asked if you were coming this week.”

“Actually, Lena’s here to meet Kori.”

Jack jumps up. “Oh! Just give me a second, I’ll go get her.” And with that he disappears down the hall.

Lena takes the opportunity to look more closely at the contents of the reception desk. There are dozens of pamphlets, most in incomprehensible languages but a small stack are in English. Lena picks one up and flips through it. The pages detail alien rights under the Alien Amnesty Act and instructions for how to register with the government. Judging by the sheer amount of paper there must be far more aliens in National City than she had considered. She wonders how many have registered. Has Kara?

“Cynthia! Good to see you.”

Cynthia embraces the woman warmly, and Lena can’t help but stare.

She’s tall, taller even than Kara, with skin a peculiar shade of deep gold. Over Cynthia’s shoulder the woman looks at Lena with catlike green eyes, a striking mane of red hair rippling behind her like silken strands of molten lava, even though she’s standing still. _Stunning…and definitely not human_.

Lena feels hot, a wave of panic rising from the pit of her stomach. She thinks of how long it took her to put together Kara’s true nature. Kara seemed so human it had been easy for Lena to fool herself. She hadn’t considered what it would be like to meet other aliens who couldn’t, or perhaps chose not to, assimilate to human aesthetics. Lena fights the urge to turn around and leave.

Cynthia’s voice cuts into her thoughts. “Kori, this is Lena.”

The woman smiles at her. “Kori Anderson. Cynthia’s told me a lot about you.”

When she extends a hand in greeting, Lena knows there can be no more pretending. Cynthia is right. Lena wants to be something different, better than her brother. If she’s going to do that, now is as good a time as any to start.

She takes the woman’s hand. Her grip is firm, warm. Lena returns her smile before cocking an eyebrow at Cynthia, who is watching this exchange closely. Lena wonders if Cynthia thought she would run. “All good things, I hope?”

Kori nods. “Of course.” She gestures down the hall. “Why don’t we continue this in my office.”

“Sure.”

Cynthia steps between them. “I’m actually going to go check on the reading group. Maybe we can meet there when you two are finished?”

Lena opens her mouth to protest but catches Cynthia’s sharp look and promptly snaps her mouth shut.

Kori either doesn’t see the exchange or is polite enough not to comment. Instead she just nods turns to Lena. “Shall we?”

Lena follows her down the hall. The office is small: a desk and a hodgepodge collection of chairs take up the majority of space, a bookshelf covers most of one wall. Lena expects Kori to sit behind the desk and is surprised when she gestures for Lena to take a seat in one of the vacant chairs in front of it, pulling out another to sit beside her.

There’s a moment of silence as Kori looks at her. Lena wants to fill the silence but this isn’t a business meeting, she’s not here to pitch a product or to secure a sale. She doesn’t know the etiquette and the panic is setting in so quickly that she has to come up with something. She inhales, and goes with the only thing she’s got.

“So, have you always lived in National City?”

Kori smiles and Lena instantly wants to kick herself for asking such a stupid question. This is obviously not Kori’s home planet, much less hometown.

She expects a jab about her ignorance, but Kori answers the question as though it’s the most normal thing in the world. “I was born on Tamaran, but when it was destroyed I bounced around the galaxy until I wound up on Earth. Starling City, actually. I met some other aliens and moved down to the Florida Keys for a while. Now I’m here.”

Kori’s honestly is refreshing. Lena wonders if she and Kara would have ever talked this way if Lena hadn’t been so blinded by her hurt about Cadmus. She wonders if Kara talks about her home at all. “Did you work in another…agency like this in Florida or in Starling?”

Kori shakes her head. “No, the ARRA is the first of its kind nationally, as far as I know. I started it because I know what it’s like to try to navigate a new world: the customs, the language, the laws. It’s overwhelming.” A shadow of sadness crosses Kori’s features. It’s fleeting, replaced by a something bright and intense in her eyes. “I wanted to create something that would help people with those things but also give them a sense of community. Most aliens aren’t out in the human communities they live in; they change their names and do their best to look and act like humans. This is one of the few places where they can be themselves. It’s especially good for the older ones and the children who can’t make those transitions as easily.”

Lena wonders what it was like for Kara. How old was she when she came to earth? When did she learn to speak English? Did she find it overwhelming and lonely when she came here? Does she still? Lena wonders if they’ll ever really talk again. The pain in her chest is sharp and all too familiar.

She turns her attention back to Kori, who smiles benignly at Lena while Lena works through her thoughts. “I’ve been aware of aliens most of my life. My brother was…well. No one ever talks about the things you just brought up. Only about the dangers.”

Kori nods. “Yes. I know this is your home planet so I mean no offense, but the majority of us would much rather be back on our home worlds if we could. Those that are here have lost everything. Most are just trying to find a way live again. You humans haven’t made it very easy. That’s why I started the ARRA.”

Lena sighs. “No. We haven’t. How do you make it easier?”

Kori pulls a pamphlet off of her desk and opens it to show Lena the graphics inside. “We focus on four core areas: legal status, cultural immersion, language training, and mental health. We provide technical assistance to help aliens register so that they can have access to basic government provisions, and help them try to get placed in jobs. Many aren’t proficient in English, so we provide courses to catch them up along with informative sessions on aspects of American culture that they need to know to integrate. One of our newer initiatives is providing mental health support for those traumatized by the events that brought them here. We reached out to some mental health professionals with more liberal viewpoints who’ve agreed to work with some of our members.”

Kori looks at Lena with pride in her eyes. Lena takes the pamphlet and reads over what Kori just summarized. “What you’re doing is incredible. How are you funding all of this?”

“We got some small government grants after the Alien Amnesty Act passed and we have some generous private donors as well. I’m hoping that by raising awareness about the alien refugee experience, and debunking the idea that all aliens are here to threaten humans, we might be able to acquire funding from philanthropic sources and work with other NGOs.”

Lena thinks about her own funds and whether she could make an anonymous donation. “I’d love to see more of your offices.”

As though encouraged by Lena’s interest, Kori gets up from her seat. “Of course. Follow me.”

Lena follows Kori down the hall, past a few more offices and shared work spaces. They come to a larger room set up like a school classroom with white boards on the walls. At the various tables around the room, alien students write in workbooks or read as staff members walk around, checking on their progress.

Cynthia is at one of the corner tables, bent over to listen to a child with what Lena can only describe as purple reptilian skin. The child is reading from a workbook, stumbling over some of the words. Cynthia corrects the child with a gentle tone and the child nods determinedly, beginning again. The whole exchange is warm, maternal, unlike anything Lena ever experienced. Jack is sitting next to the child, occasionally chiming in to tell the child something in a language Lena has never heard. This must be Jack’s sister.

When she looks at Jack with his human-esque form compared to the little girl beside him, all Lena can think of is Lex. Lex and the awful feeling of coming into a home that had never intended to have her. Lena’s heart aches as she thinks of her childhood with Lex, how he was always there to help her, to teach her, even while Lillian did everything she could to ignore her. A sense of loss fills Lena then. Unlike her own mother, Cynthia looks relaxed, happy. The girl says something that makes both Jack and Cynthia laugh. What it would have been like if someone like Cynthia had been her mother? What would it have been like to have that warmth growing up?

Kori clears her throat and Cynthia looks up. “Give me a minute.” Cynthia turns her attention back to the student, whispering something to them that Lena can’t hear. The child laughs and Cynthia pats Jack on the shoulder before straightening and turning her attention to Kori and Lena. Jack turns and waves to Lena, a warm grin on his face. It reminds her of Kara’s smile, and Lena can’t help but smile back.

The three of them move to the door so as not to disturb the students. In the hallway Cynthia looks back and forth between Kori and Lena, clearly trying to read how their conversation may have gone. Her eyes finally settle on Lena, expectant.

Lena ignores her, turning to Kori with a smile. “Thank you for meeting with me. You’re doing really amazing work here.”

Kori returns her smile and out of the corner of her eye, Lena sees Cynthia visibly relax. Kori gestures towards the lobby. “Of course. We’d be happy to have you back some time. We’re always looking for volunteers to help with the reading groups and with outreach. I’m sure Cynthia can tell you all about how rewarding that can be.”

Cynthia smiles. “That I can do.”

With that Kori disappears back to her office. Cynthia and Lena walk back through the lobby towards the door.

Even as they emerge into the blinding National City sunlight, Lena is still thinking about Jack. She turns to Cynthia. “Thank you for bringing me here. Maybe if someone had done this with Lex…”

Cynthia cuts her off. “Your brother knew and he made his choices. We’re here now.”

Lena looks at the ARRA sign, thinking about a young Kara learning to read like Jack’s sister. “You’re right.” She turns back to Cynthia. “I’d like to come back. Maybe I can learn to help with the reading, or do something with science.”

Cynthia looks pleased. “You should talk to Kori about that next Saturday. We start at 8am.”

Lena nods and Cynthia starts to walk away down the street, but turns back to Lena before she gets to the end of the block.

“Oh! And coffee’s on you next time!”

Lena laughs. Maybe she’ll take the day off after all.

 

\-----------------------------------------

III.

Kara sits are her desk, tapping a pen against the notepad in front of her. She’s been back from Metropolis for three weeks, but James has forbidden her to do any stories on alien/human relations, citing her inherent conflict of interest. The restrictions have left her with little to do besides bear witness to Winn and Mon-El’s antics.

Today they’re playing basketball with a ball of paper, trying to impress each other with increasingly difficult trick shots. Kara watches as Winn pushes Mon-El, who is kneeling on a rolling office chair, across the room at high speed. Winn lets go of the chair and Mon-El coasts by her desk, shooting back over his shoulder at a nearby trashcan. The paper bounces off a desk and into the can. Winn whoops as Mon-El leans back and raises his arms in victory, losing his balance in the process. Kara jumps up but it’s too late, and Mon-El crashes to the ground along with the chair.

Winn is at his side in seconds, looking concerned. “Are you okay?”

Mon-El just lies there grinning. “Yeah. You saw that, right?

Winn smiles, extending a hand to Mon-El. “Your fade away isn’t bad for a…you know.”

Mon-El takes his hand and gets to his feet. His eyes flick down to Winn’s lips. “Office basketball isn’t the only thing I’m good at.”

Kara opens her mouth to tell them to take this gross flirting away from her desk when James appears behind them. He clears his throat and Mon-El and Winn jump away from each other, Winn nearly tripping over the still overturned chair.

“We were just…”

James takes one look at the chair, then at the two men. “I don’t want to know. I need someone up in the studio, the roundtable is about to start and we need extra hands.”

Kara frowns, she has no idea what James is talking about. “What roundtable?”

Mon-El is quick to respond, taking a step away from Winn and the overturned chair. “The one on the future of alien rights in National City.” He turns his attention to James. “I can head up there now.”

James nods and with a sly wink at Winn, Mon-El heads towards the elevators with James close behind him. Kara hurries to her feet, catching James as he walks by. “Why didn’t you tell me we were hosting this?”

James sighs. “You know why. You’re too close to all of it and I think it’s better for now if you focus on other things.”

Kara scoffs. “What about Mon-El?” She looks around to make sure no one is listening before whispering, “He’s an alien too and you just let him go upstairs.”

James laughs. “He’s just going to fill the water pitcher and makes sure no one trips over any of the wires on set. You can watch it on one of the monitors in my office if you want.”

Kara sighs and watches him walk toward the elevator. Winn appears beside her, pushing the wayward office chair. “He’s still benching you?”

Kara throws up her hands. “He thinks I’m too close to it.”

“Well…you kind of are.”

Kara wheels around. “So what am I supposed to do? I might as well just be a personal assistant again for all the journalism I’m doing now.”

Winn puts a hand on her arm. “Hey, give it some time, okay? You’ve only been back for a few weeks. It won’t be like this forever.”

Kara crosses her arms and looks away. “Right.”

Winn pushes the chair back towards his desk and heads towards James’s office. “Come on, we might as well take advantage of the giant TV, and I know where James keeps his candy stash.”

Kara can’t help but smile. “Fine, but I get the Twizzlers.”

She follows Winn into the office and turns on the TV. The screen is blank except for the CatCo logo. Winn glances at the screen before rummaging around in one of the bottom drawers of James’s desk. “The round table should come onto the feed in a minute.”

Kara sighs impatiently, tapping her fingers on her fore arm.

Winn pops back up from behind the desk tossing a bag of candy at Kara’s head. “Found it!”

Kara catches it and flops down onto the couch, pulling the bag open and examining the contents. She pulls out a long stick of Twizzlers as Winn reaches for a mini bag of Skittles. “Hey, it’s on.”

With a mouthful of Twizzlers Kara looks up at the TV where four people sit around a table. There’s a man speaking who seems to be a moderator. He introduces his three guests as Don Bannon from the Human Rights Alliance, Kori Anderson from the Alien Refugee Relief Agency, and…Lena Luthor.

Kara stops chewing. “What is Lena Luthor doing here?”

Winn pops a handful of Skittles into his mouth and shrugs. “James said he was bringing her on to talk about the business side of the issue because she sold her alien detection software to the police.”

Kara swallows. She had foolishly hoped that Lena would realize through their friendship that aliens didn’t have to be feared, but when Lena sold the software she knew it had been wishful thinking. The police would probably use them to profile aliens, and if the human population found out some of their neighbors weren’t from earth, there’s no telling what they might do. Kara sighs and sits back to watch the conversation unfold, just as the man from Human Rights Alliance launches into a rant.

_“This city is overrun with aliens. They take away human jobs, many of them are violent killers—“_

_Kori cuts him off. “There is no evidence to support either of those claims. The majority of these refugees, and they are refugees, are here because they’ve lost their homes and livelihoods due to the destruction or inhabitability of their home planets. They have nowhere else to go. And until the signing of the Alien Amnesty Act, they were denied access to the documentation necessary to gain employment in National City or anywhere else. As for crime, there is no evidence to support the notion that these refugees are violent._

_The moderator carefully inserts himself into the heated exchange. “The issue of refugee violence is one for the police, but Ms. Luthor, your company has worked with the National City Police to provide alien detection software. What are your thoughts on this?”_

_Lena looks poised. “L-Corps primary concern here, my primary concern, is the safety of all citizens of National City. After the signing of the Alien Amnesty Act, that citizenry also includes our alien refugee communities. Our software is meant to protect our police by ensuring that they are able to identify alien refugees when engaging with citizens who have been victims of or committed crimes. But I would also like to use this opportunity to share for the first time that there is another initiative under way to support that software and better protect the rights of refugees. L-Corp is working with the ARRA to develop real-time translation devices to enable police to better communicate with aliens with limited English-speaking capabilities. The idea being that adequate communication between police and refugees ensures that police are able to inform refugees of their rights as citizens if involved in a crime and that better communicate between police and refugees will build trust and enable refugees to feel more protected and have better access the justice system when faced with the heinous hate crimes we’ve all heard about on the news lately.”_

_Mr. Bannon is so red he looks like he might explode. “They don’t need justice! They need a one way ticket back to where they came from!”_

_Kori looks like she’s trying not to roll her eyes. “Alien refugees are now citizens of this country. They deserve the same access to rights, freedoms, and protections that human citizens have. This initiative is a step towards ensuring that.”_

_Bannon opens his mouth to respond just as the moderator cuts in. “Well, this has been a fascinating discussion but that’s all the time we have. Thank you Mr. Bannon, Ms. Luthor, Ms. Anderson. It’s been a pleasure._

Winn picks up the remote and shuts off the monitor. “That woman from the ARRA is intense, and totally an alien. I can’t believe Lena is working with her.”

“Yeah.” Kara is still trying to process what she just heard. Why is Lena talking about protecting alien rights? She hates aliens. There must be another motive Kara isn’t seeing.

“Well, I’m sure James will give us the scoop when he gets back down here. Help me get rid of all this stuff.” He starts collecting all the empty candy wrappers and hands them to Kara, who shoves them in the trash. Winn moves to toss the remaining candy back into James’s desk drawer.

They walk out onto the main floor of the office and Kara returns to her desk. Looking at her notepad, she realizes she once again has nothing to do. She sighs, looking around the office floor. She wishes she could be at the DEO. She had gone straight there when she got back from Metropolis, and after a long talk with Alex and J’onn (in which Kara promised to introduce Alex to Diana the next time they met), they’d agreed she could go back into the field. But with the trail on Cadmus still cold and no intergalactic gangs come to take over the city, there hadn’t been any need for Kara to be Supergirl.

If she couldn’t be Supergirl, and she couldn’t be a journalist, what _could_ she do?

Kara looks at the clock: 2:30pm. Right about now, Miss Grant would be jonesing for a Noonan’s run. Maybe James would appreciate that. Winn certainly would. Guess she could still be the coffee girl. Kara gets up and heads towards the exit, already mentally running down the list of everyone’s usual orders. The elevator dings and Kara glances up to see James step off with Kori and Lena. Kori and James are deep in conversation but Lena’s eyes wander, like she’s looking for someone.

Kara’s heart starts to race. She wills herself to keep walking, but Lena catches her eye and suddenly Kara might as well be standing knee deep in cement. She doesn’t know how to read the look in Lena’s eyes: relief? sadness? Something else Kara can’t put her finger on? In this moment, Kara knows Lena isn’t just seeing Kara Danvers the reporter, she’s seeing the suit—the _alien_ underneath. That exposure makes Kara want to run, to hide, to forget Lena all together. Then Lena does something Kara doesn’t expect. She smiles. It’s small, hopeful. Kara reflexively smiles back, the smile grows on Lena’s face and her cheeks redden, a blush.

The rush of emotion breaks the spell of the moment and reality rushes back in: the noise of the office, the fact that Kara is just standing in the middle of the lobby with her alien heart beating right out of her chest.  

She takes a deep breath and turns for the door. She was going to walk to the coffee shop but for the first time in a long time, Kara feels like flying.

 

\----------------------------------------- 

IV.

Kara makes it back to CatCo in 40 minutes, an impressive feat considering that she went all the way to San Francisco to get the coffee. She drops two cups at Winn’s desk, one for Mon-El, before heading to James’s office.

James is sitting at his desk, looking at something on his computer screen. Kara sets down his cup. James takes one look at the label on the cup and cocks an eyebrow at her. “You couldn’t find any decent coffee in this city?”

Kara shrugs. “Thought it might be nice to change it up.”

James smiles and takes a sip. “Did you watch the roundtable?”

Kara nods, thinks of Lena’s smile. She crosses her arms and tries not to blush. “Yeah, it was interesting.”

“I don’t think Don Bannon or Kori Anderson said anything in that roundtable that people weren’t expecting, but Lena was a surprise. She obviously got very different ideas about aliens than the rest of her family, and her company could make a huge impact on how alien issues are handled here.”

He pauses. Kara shifts back and forth from one foot to the other, trying to put together what James is getting at. Then it hits her. “You want to interview her again.”

James leans back. “I want _you_ to interview her.”

 _Oh._ Kara feels a sudden jolt of nerves clench in her stomach. “You don’t think _that’s_ a conflict of interest?”

James shakes his head. “I understand why you passed on the other interview, and you were right, you were too close to the Cadmus investigation. But having tried to interview her myself, I just don’t think anyone else here can get her to open up the way you can.”

Kara feels the blush creeping up her neck. “I don’t think—“

James stands. “I know you’re tired of desk work and you’re the best journalist for this assignment. So take it.”

Kara sighs. “Okay. I’ll go talk to her.”

James grins. “Good. I want to run a piece on her in two days, so you should get something set up as soon as you can.”

 

\-----------------------------------------

V.

Lena paces back and forth across her office. Kara was supposed to be here ten minutes ago. When Jess told her that Kara had requested an interview Lena’d been hopeful, remembering Kara smiling back when they saw one another at CatCo. But with every passing moment, Lena worries that Kara has changed her mind and wants nothing to do with Lena. She looks across the office toward the National City skyline visible through the window. Kara has come in through the balcony before. She checks her watch again. Eleven minutes late.

Through the silence of her growing nerves, Lena hears the sound of the office door opening. She turns. Jess steps inside. Her poker face is imperfect. She knows Lena well enough to see through Lena’s feigned nonchalance. Jess tries to hide the smile on her face as she says, “Miss Luthor, Kara Danvers is here for you.”

Lena’s heart is in her throat now. “Please, send her in.”

Jess nods and opens the door further before disappearing. An instant later, Kara walks into the room carrying the familiar notebook and pen. She looks uncertain, and for a moment Lena flashes back to the pain of their last meeting. She can’t let that linger, and quickly shakes it from her mind. She’s changed since then; she needs to show Kara just how much.

She smiles and gestures to the white couch where they’d had most of they previous interviews (and more than a little flirting). “I’m glad you came. Please, sit.”

Kara smiles. “Thank you.”

Karas fold herself onto the couch. Lena is fascinated by the way she tucks her hair behind her ear and adjusts her glasses: subtle tells of Kara’s nervousness. Lena thinks she’s beautiful. “So, you must have some questions.”

Kara looks down at her notebook and laughs. “Um, yeah.” She flips through her notes, clearing her throat. When she looks up her face is serious. “You said at the roundtable that you wanted to see aliens have more protections from law enforcement, you don’t think this is contradictory after selling your detection software to the police?”

 _Well, that was direct._ Lena gathers herself quickly. “I don’t. I discussed this extensively with Chief Rodriguez, and he told me that if the police are going to be able to do their jobs effectively and protect their community, they have to know whom they’re working with. The device is meant to inform them in situations where not knowing could lead to danger for civilians and the officers themselves.”

Kara’s eyes flash. “Because the aliens pose a danger?”

Lena sighs. This feels less like an interview with Kara Danvers than with Supergirl. But Supergirl is just another alias. Lena wonders fleetingly if Kara had another name on Krypton. Would be rude to ask? “No. I don’t think aliens deserve to be targeted, to be attacked with that kind of hate. I want everyone to be safe. That’s why I shared the software with the police, so that it wouldn’t end up in the hands of maniacs like Don Bannon, and that’s why I’m working on the translation project with Kori Anderson.”

Kara scribbles notes, brow furrowed. After a moment the pen stills and she looks up, her eyes searching Lena’s face. “I guess I’m just trying to understand what changed. The position of this company and of your family has always been anti-alien…” Kara trails off but Lena picks up the unspoken accusation. _It’s been your position too._

It cuts Lena deeply, but she knows Kara is right. “I want L-Corp to be a bridge, not something that divides. That is why I’m using L-Corp technology to work towards these initiatives.” She pauses, thinking of Cynthia’s words, of meeting Jack and Kori. “I didn’t know any aliens before. Now that I do, I know I was wrong.”

She glances over at Kara, who has stopped writing and is staring openly at her now. Lena swallows. “I’m sorry about before. I shouldn’t have pushed you away like that.”

Kara puts down her pen but doesn’t say a word. Lena watches her carefully: the way she seems to be breathing more shallowly, working the muscles in her jaw. Lena wonders if she’s overstepped, if she should have just kept it professional, even though Kara had clearly been struggling.

But then Kara speaks, still not looking at her. “I don’t blame you. I know you must have seen what happened at the construction site. What I did…”

Lena frowns. “Anyone could see it was an accident.”

Kara looks up and towards the window, tears in her eyes. “That had never happened to me before. I guess I never thought it could. I’m Supergirl. The hero is supposed to save people not kill them, right? I wouldn’t have blamed you for hating me after that.”

Lena touches her arm gently. “Kara…”

Kara looks down. “I’m sorry, it’s just still hard.”

“I know how much you care about people, how much you value life. I’m sorry that happened.”

Kara sniffs. “Me too. After it happened, the only person I wanted to talk to was my aunt Astra. She was a general on Krypton so she knew what it was like, you know? But she’s gone now too.”

There’s a look of such deep sorrow in Kara’s eyes, Lena wishes she could hug her. “I’ve been working with Kori Anderson and the ARRA for a few weeks and I’ve realized there’s so much I never knew, never considered about how hard it must be for you here.”

Kara smiles sadly. “I’ve been lucky, I’ve always had Alex. But there are some things she just can’t understand, you know?”

Kara takes off her glasses, wiping her eyes. To Lena’s surprise she doesn’t put them back on. Kara catches her staring and shrugs. “I guess I don’t need the disguise or the journalist cover if you know who I am.”

Lena feels her chest grow tight. She knows how hard it must be for Kara to expose herself again after what happened the last time she was here. “Kara, I know how much your day job means to you. You don’t have to act like it’s just a facade because I know about Supergirl. ”

Kara looks at her for a long moment. “I’ve always felt like I have to be one or the other: the journalist or the superhero.”

Lena holds her gaze. “They’re both part of you. You don’t have to hide either from me anymore.”

Kara’s eyes slip down to Lena’s lips before flicking back up. Lena’s mouth is suddenly dry as she realizes how close they are to one another. Lena leans closer, but then hesitates, unsure if Kara wants this as much as she does. But then Kara dips her head and Lena closes her eyes. She can feel Kara breathing against her when—

_BOOM._

They jump apart as something crashes into the street below. Before Lena can get her bearings Kara is off the couch and stripping to her suit. They run to Lena’s balcony, looking down onto the scene below.

A group of men, cyborgs by Lena’s guess, are tearing their way through traffic, smashing cars and tossing pedestrians like dolls. One of them climbs onto the top of a truck and in a booming voice yells, “Supergirl! Come out and play!” before smashing his fist through the windshield.

Kara turns to Lena. “I have to go.”

She’s about to take off when Lena grabs her hand. “Be careful, Kara.”

Kara looks down at their interlocked hands and hesitates. She looks back up at Lena, her eyes bright and determined. She squeezes Lena’s hand gently, and with a small smile that makes Lena’s heart flutter, she’s gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update took so long, life got in the way. I promise a much shorter wait for the final chapter though. Hope you all enjoyed this one!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A final battle. A fresh start.

I.

Swooping down from the top floor of the L-Corp building, Kara surveys the chaotic scene on the street and in the park below. Car alarms blare as pedestrians scramble to get away from a group of men in metal fight suits. Flying closer, Kara notices that all of them have a bionic eye. They’re just like the Cyborg Superman that tried to kill Lena the night Lillian Luthor tried to unleash the Medusa virus. The idea of these mindless murder machines attacking more innocent people fills Kara with rage.

The asphalt cracks when Kara lands on the sidewalk.

The man she’d seen from Lena’s balcony hops off the car he was punching and strides down the street. As he bashes another car, Kara sees a deep red scar cutting a jagged line from the base of his neck down his chest and under his shirt.

Kara breaks into a run, eager to hit something. She isn’t quick enough -- the borg grins wickedly at her, cocky, and veers off into the pandemonium of the park. Kara pushes through the crowd of civilians rushing into the street as she tries to follow him, but by the time she wades through the sea of people he’s gone.

A familiar voice comes through on her earpiece.

“Supergirl, come in.”

Kara looks left and clocks another borg holding a man in the air, shaking him. She heads for them. “Alex, what the hell is going on?”

“We don’t know yet but we’re preparing to send agents in to engage. Have you gotten a close look at any of these guys?”

Kara grabs the borg by the shoulder. He turns his head right into her fist, shattering his bionic eye. He drops to the ground like a broken doll as the man he was holding scrambles away. “They’re cyborgs. And I think they’re Cadmus.”

“Cadmus?” Her earpiece crackles. “Kara, there’s too many for you to take on alone and we don’t know what they’re doing here. J’onn says to meet us at the rally point to coordinate response.”

There are borgs everywhere. “There’re innocent people out here, I can’t just leave them. Send in whatever you have. I could use the back up.”

From across the park, Kara’s eyes catch a young girl stumbling into the street. With every step the girl takes, Kara can see her skin shifting into deep purple scales.

“Emily! This way!”

Kara’s stomach drops. Lena and a teenage boy are running toward the alien girl.

_What is Lena doing here?_

 

\-----------------------------------------

II.

Lena grabs Emily by the hand. She’s moving briskly towards what look like police vehicles at the end of the block. Jack is jogging in front of them. He pulls out his cell phone, frantically typing.

_Seriously?_ She knows how attached Jack is to his social media but this is ridiculous. “Jack, what are you doing?!”

He doesn’t look up, stumbling over his own feet, eyes glued to his phone. “Getting help!”

Before Lena can ask what that means, she hears a crash behind them. A borg, wielding a lamp post like a giant baseball bat, points it at the trio. “ALIEN!”

_Really shouldn’t have worn heels to work today_. “Run!” Lena yells.

But Emily freezes, terrified. Lena and Jack try to drag her away but it’s too late. The borg jumps across the hoods of two cars and runs up the back of a truck. Gripping the pole in both hands, he leaps toward them, arms raised to strike.

She has no time to think. Reacting on instinct alone, Lena places herself between Emily and the borg. She tenses, bracing for the impact of the borg’s blow.

A red streak comes out of nowhere and collides with the borg mid-air, slamming him into a concrete wall with so much force the ground shakes. Lena looks up to see Kara standing over the crumpled form of the borg.

“Lena! Get them out of here!”

Kara looks distraught at her presence. Lena wants to tell her she’s sorry for being out here, that she couldn’t leave Jack and Emily with whatever these monsters are, but this isn’t really the time. With a nod to Kara she pushes Emily and Jack to run for the barricades at police line. An officer waves them through a gap in the concrete. Jack and Emily pass between the concrete barriers first. Lena follows behind them, looking back. Her breath catches.

Kara is fighting two borgs at the entrance to the park. One of the borgs slips behind Kara while she’s distracted by the other. A swift kick to the back of her knees sends Kara to the ground and the two borgs pile on top of her. Lena’s heart begins to race.

_They’ll kill her._

The officer grabs her arm, trying to drag her through the barricade. “Ma’am, come on! It’s not safe out there!”

Lena wheels around on him. “We can’t just leave Supergirl out there! You have to help her!”

The officer shakes his head. “She can take care of herself.” Lena opens her mouth to protest, but he’s grabbed her with both hands, dragging Lena behind him. Jack and Emily follow as he ushers them away from the fighting and behind the police vehicles. “You’ll all be safe here. Just stay back.”

A shadow passes over them. Jack looks up. “Finally!”

Lena follows his gaze. All she sees is a trail of smoke heading toward the park. “What was that?”

Emily smiles. “Help.”

 

\-----------------------------------------

III.

 

Kara smashes another borg into the ground. _That’s twelve. How many more are there?_ They’re like ants, their numbers seemingly endless. Kara stands up. Her breath is ragged, but she’s already looking for the next one to fight. DEO officers fire on a borg across the park, but it’s no use. He roars, swatting the bullets away like flies.

Kara presses her earpiece. “Alex! Do we have anything bigger to throw at these guys? I’m—”

The blow to the back of Kara’s head sends her staggering. Before she can regain her balance a borg jumps on her back. He’s heavy and Kara, already off balance, tumbles to the ground. He yanks her into a headlock and Kara gasps for air while she tries to elbow him off of her. Her vision starts to go black. As she struggles, a wave of heat pass over her and the borg screams, releasing his vice grip on Kara’s head. Kara rolls him off of her and the borg collapses in a heap of ash, flesh blackened and skin crackling.

She hears another borg scream nearby. A woman in a purple and silver catsuit stands a few feet away from him, arm outstretched. A stream of fire flows out of her palm and the borg falls. The woman turns to Kara, long red hair shimmering around her. _I’ve seen her before, but where?_

The it hits her. Kara can’t help but laugh in disbelief. “Are you Kori Anderson? From the ARRA?"

Kori grins. “Out here you can call me Starfire.”

“Where did you come from?”

“Florida. It’s a long story.” Out of the corner of her eye Kara clocks a borg coming around the corner towards them. Kara opens her mouth to warn Kori, but the other woman is already hitting the borg with a massive burst of fire. “We can talk about all that later. You punch, I scorch?”

Kori’s methods are definitely more effective than what the DEO is doing. “Sounds like a plan.”

They make quick work of the rest of the borgs. Kara wonders what happened to the scarred one who first called her out in the street. She hasn’t seen him since the beginning of the battle. She flies across the park, searching. Through the trees she sees Kori with the last borg cornered near the DEO rally point. Kara lands as Kori picks the borg up, body slamming him to the ground. As he falls Kara catches a glimpse of a massive scar on his chest. “Starfire! Wait!”

Kori looks up, still holding the borg down. “Why?”

Kara strides over. “He’s the last one. We need to question him.”

Kori sighs and looks down. The borg screams. There’s smoke coming off of Kori’s hands as she pulls him up, shoving his barely conscious form at Kara. “All yours.”

The borg is beat up, and one of his arms is mangled and appears to be dislocated. Kara takes the borg by his good arm. “Thanks for your help.”

Kori nods. “This was fun. You should come by the office sometime.”

Kara smiles. “I’d like that.”

Kori grins and takes off, streaking like a comet across the sky toward the south side of the city.

Kara presses her earpiece. “Alex, I’ve got the last one. Bringing him in for questioning.”

Her earpiece crackles. “Copy that, Supergirl. Standing by at the rally point.”

Kara drags the borg in the direction of the DEO barricade. Alex stands behind the barricade with the line of soldiers in all black, gun barrels trained on the borg.

The borg stumbles, slowing his pace. Kara looks down at him as she hauls him to his feet. His shirt is ripped and Kara sees a strange silvery green glow coming from beneath the scar. “Who are you?”

The borg coughs. “You know who we are, Supergirl. Your kind don’t belong here.”

_I knew it._ Kara tightens her grip on the borg and presses her earpiece with her free hand. “Alex, they’re definitely Cadmus.”

She doesn’t wait for a response as she turns back to the borg. “Where did you come from?”

The borg just laughs, teeth covered in blood. “It doesn’t matter. I’m the last one left.”

He looks around at the DEO and the small group of civilians still behind the barricade, searching for someone or something. Kara frowns as she looks around.

“You.” The borg tries to take a step towards one of the barricades. Kara follows his eyes to Lena, standing behind the concrete with a horrified look on her face. She looks back at the borg, who stands perfectly still, just staring at Lena. He takes a deep breath. “Your mother says hello.”

He jerks his free arm to his glowing chest and before Kara can react, everything goes white.

 

\-----------------------------------------

IV.

The blast knocks Lena to the ground. When the world stops spinning, she rolls onto her side and pushes herself up. She looks down at her bare feet. Where are her shoes? A thin layer of silvery green dust covers the ground. _I’ve seen this before. Where?_

Around her people are starting to get to their feet. Their mouths are moving but there’s nothing but ringing in Lena’s ears. She starts to look for Jack and Emily before she remembers that she flagged down one of the L-Corp drivers to take them home after Kara helped them make it to the barricades. She was trying to get back to her building when she saw Kara coming out of the park, dragging a borg. Everyone looked relieved and the officers nearby hadn’t seemed to notice that Lena had lingered to make sure Kara was safe.

_Kara. Shit._ Shakily, Lena stumbles forward through the broken concrete of the barricade. She starts to hear what must be yelling, though it’s still more like whispers to her. Lena follows the sound to the opposite side of the park entrance. Through the smoke she catches sight of a group of federal agents. She can barely make out something red and blue on the ground between them. Lena starts to run.

Shoving her way through the agents, she comes to a stop when she sees Alex on the ground, cradling Kara’s body. She’s limp, like a ragdoll. “No…”

Alex turns to one of the agents. “We need to get her out of here.”

A black van pulls up and more agents climb out. They swarm like flies, carefully lifting Kara’s body into the back of the van. Alex says something inaudible to the driver. He nods and jumps into the vehicle. The van speeds away, sirens blaring.

Lena takes a tentative step toward Alex. “Is she alive?”

Alex whips her head around. “You. This is _your_ fault.” She advances.

Lena stands her ground. Alex’s face is a full of barely concealed loathing. “I don’t--”

“Right before that borg detonated he looked at you and said, ‘Your mother says hello’. I hear it through the earpiece.”

Lena’s stomach starts to churn and suddenly the ground is spinning again. “Why would he…”

Lillian’s voice comes echoing back from that day at the prison: _Supergirl has more enemies than you know and if you keep going like this, they’ll have to be your enemies too._

Lena feels bile bubbling up in her throat. She forces it down.

Alex is in her face now. “What did that thing do to her?!”

Lena takes a step back. “How would I know?”

Alex scoffs. “The last time your mother tried to do something insane she wanted to use a virus only _you_ had access to.”

“And I didn’t give it to her! I would never let her have something that I knew could hurt people!”

Alex waves her hand wildly at the scene around them. “Then what the hell is all this?!”

She bends down and scoops up a pile of the dust, shoving it under Lena’s nose. “What is it and what did it do to my sister?”

Lena takes a pinch of the dust out of the pile in Alex’s palm, studying it carefully. It’s definitely not her work but the substance _is_ familiar, something she’s seen before back in Lex’s private lab. And if her mother had access to it for long enough that she’d engineered a way to implant it into borgs … _Oh fuck._

“I think it’s synthetic kryptonite. You need to take me to Kara. _Now_.”

“Your mother just tried to kill her!”

Lena stands nearly nose to nose with Alex now, struggling to contain her anger. “I am _not_ my mother! I took your side, remember?” Lena takes a deep breath. “Please, Alex. I can save her.”

Alex stares at her for a moment. An agent jogs over. She looks back and forth between them before settling on Alex. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’ve collected samples of whatever this powder is. The convoy is ready to move.”

The agent turns to go. “Agent Vasquez. We’re taking Miss Luthor with us.”

Agent Vasquez nods and takes Lena by the arm. “This way.”

She escorts Lena to another van and opens the back, gesturing for Lena to climb onto one of the benches against the sides.

Lena climbs in followed by Agent Vasquez with Alex behind her. They sit opposite Lena, and when Agent Vasquez bangs her fist against the roof, the van starts to move.

Alex leans forward. “What do you know about Cadmus?”

_This again?_ Lena rolls her eyes. “The same things you do. That it was an anti-alien terrorist group headed by my dear mother.”

 Agent Vasquez joins in. “And there was no one else at the top? No second in command?”

 Lena scoffs. “My mother never would have put someone else in charge of her pet project. She must have ordered the attack from inside prison. Where are we going?”

 Alex ignores her. “You said the explosive was synthetic kryptonite. How do you know?”

Lena sits back and crosses her arms. She didn’t come along for an interrogation. “When I took over L-Corp, I had to go through all of Lex’s old research to figure out what could be moved and what had to be disposed of. He had samples of synthetic kryptonite in his lab that looked exactly like whatever we just encountered. I ordered it destroyed and my mother was the only other person who had access to the lab before that. She must have taken some of it then.”

Agent Vasquez frowns. “What does it do?”

 “Unlike natural kryptonite, synthetic kryptonite was designed to kill a Kryptonian slowly. It intensifies chemical reactions due to solar exposure.”

Alex’s expression hardens. “Be more specific.”

Lena pauses, trying to think of the best way to explain the chemistry. “Making solar energy relies on isomers being destabilized just enough to react. The right balance gives you solar power, Kara’s abilities. But synthetic kryptonite is designed to create reactions that are unbalanced, too strong, causing her powers to short circuit. It needs time to metastasize throughout the body and fully access all of her powers, but once it does the pain will be excruciating and eventually result in death.”

Saying it out loud, thinking of that happening to Kara, makes the hairs on the back of Lena’s neck stand up.

Alex pales. “How much time does she have?” 

Lena swallows hard. “Hours.”

“Can you stop it?”

Lena nods. “Yes, but I need a sample from the detonation site that we can run tests on to determine the composition of the synthetic kryptonite used. That’ll tell us how what kind of reversing agent we need to stop it.”

 The vehicle rolls to a stop. Alex turns to Agent Vasquez. “Bring the samples to my lab.”

Agent Vasquez nods and opens the door, climbing out. 

Lena gets up to follow her but is shoved back into her seat by Alex, who is suddenly very close to her face.

“My sister may trust you but I don’t. Fix this or so help me I’ll make sure you rot in prison with the rest of your family.”

And with that, Alex shoves a black bag over Lena’s head.

 

\-----------------------------------------

V.

“Walk faster.”

Lena hears Alex’s voice to her left. The bag itches where it rubs against her nose. “It would be easier if I could see where I was going.”

Alex’s grip on her arm tightens as Lena steps barefoot onto a cold, smooth floor. _Tile?_

The door bangs shut behind them and bag is pulled off of her head. Lena blinks to adjust to the light. The building is like a bunker, with the atrium full of floating screens and digital maps. _This is definitely not the FBI._

“Where are we?”

Alex starts jogging down the hall. “Department of Extranormal Operations. Hurry up.”

Lena takes off behind her. “What is—

A commotion comes from their right. Two agents wheel an unconscious Kara through the hallway on a gurney, followed by Winn. _Doesn’t he work at CatCo? Is anyone who they say they are in this town?_

Alex stops in front of them. “Winn! We need to move Kara to the krypton diffuser room.” She turns to Lena. “It’s a padded, lead-lined room and the krypton levels will prevent her from accessing her powers.”

Lena shakes her head. “You’ll have to turn off the krypton; the excess radiation will kill her.”

Winn raises his hand, points at Lena. “Uh, what is Lena Luthor doing here?”

Alex waves off the two agents next to the gurney. “It’s a long story, I’ll explain later. We need to move quickly.”

Alex grabs one side of the gurney and Lena takes the other, with Winn pulling from the front. They come to a stop in front of a double door with a control panel beside it. Alex quickly keys them in and when the doors slide open Lena and Winn push the gurney to the middle of the room. 

Winn calls back to Alex. “What’re you doing?”

Alex’s head pops out from around the door. “Disabling the diffuser. Get her off that gurney.”

Winn comes around to Lena’s side of the gurney, unbuckles the straps over Kara’s chest and legs, then presses a lever on the side to lower it. He puts his arms around Kara’s torso. “Get under her legs.”

Lena loops her arms under Kara’s legs and nods at Winn. “Let’s lift her.”

They carefully lift Kara and move her to the floor. She’s heavy. Lena is thankful Winn lowered the gurney because if they weren’t already so close to the ground they might have dropped her.

Winn gets up and pulls the gurney away. “I’m going to get this back to the med bay.”

Lena kneels beside Kara. She looks peaceful, like she’s in a deep sleep. Lena had once wondered what it would be like to just sleep with Kara. But in Lena’s imagination, Kara wakes up and smiles at her, pulling her close as Lena presses soft kisses to Kara skin, warm and alive. Now Kara’s hand feels cool to the touch and Lena fights the panic crawling up her spine. They don’t have much time.

Before she can move, Alex drops to a knee on the other side of Kara. When she speaks her voice is barely more than a whisper. “What happens when she wakes up?”

Lena watches the steady rise and fall of Kara’s chest. “I don’t know. There may be delusions, psychosis. She could get violent.”

Alex sniffs. It takes nothing more than a glance to see that Alex is crying. Anyone could see the bond the Danvers sisters have, and Lena sees in Alex the same protectiveness she once saw in Lex. Lena shed so many tears over him, all for nothing. She won’t let Alex’s be in vain. “But if we can make a reversing agent quickly we can stop it before it gets to that point.”

Alex nods and stands up, turning away. Lena reaches out and gently brushes Kara’s hair off her face. She hears Alex move and looks up to see Alex watching her, a strange look on her face.

Lena feels her cheeks burning under Alex’s gaze. She stands up but doesn’t make eye contact. “Let’s go to the lab. Vasquez will probably have the samples brought in by now.”

They step out of the diffuser room and Alex closes the doors, locking it on the keypad.

Lena follows her down the corridor to one of the labs. Alex gestures around the room. “Can you work here?”

“Yes.” The equipment is sophisticated, almost as good as her own. Almost.

Agent Vasquez appears and hands a case of samples to Alex. She offers a pair of shoes to Lena. “I don’t know if they’ll fit, but they’re better than nothing.” Lena takes the shoes but doesn’t get a chance to thank her before the agent briskly exits.

As Lena slips on the shoes (flats but in the right size) she watches Alex place the case on the desk and turn on a monitor. Alex quickly taps on the keyboard and a feed showing Kara lying on the floor of the diffuser room pops up. In the top corner, Lena sees something that looks like vitals. She doesn’t know what normal vitals would look like for a kryptonian, so it’s hard to tell what might be amiss now. 

She moves to boot up some of the machinery as Alex turns to watch her, arms crossed. “Do you know what you’re doing? Those aren’t available on the civilian market.”

Lena is done being pushed around. She’s a scientist, and Alex is going to treat her like one. “I’m a chemical engineer with my own tech company. I’m familiar with things that aren’t available on the civilian market.”

Alex huffs.

Lena turns on one of the scanning machines used to analyze foreign objects. “May I have the sample?”

Alex pulls a sample out of a locked case and places the petri dish onto the conveyor belt. She presses the green button and the conveyor belt slides forward, taking the sample into the machine and out of Lena’s reach.

 Lena rolls her eyes. “That was unnecessary.”

“You said you could help Kara, and that’s the only reason you’re here right now. If you lied, if you hurt her—“

Lena puts up a hand to stop her. “I won’t.”

Alex stands between Lena and the sample case. “Hurry up.”

Lena fights the urge to slam the control panel into the table. “If you would just let me work maybe I could—” 

“How is she?”

They both turn to see Director Henshaw standing in the doorway a few feet away.

Alex steps forward. “Still catatonic, sir. We’re working on it.”

He nods and looks at Lena, then the data coming off of the scan she’s started. “Agent Danvers can I see you outside for a moment?” 

They step into the hallway but the glass isn’t very thick and Lena can still make out what they’re saying.

Director Henshaw is the first to speak: “Winn’s run biometrics on the attackers. Looks like they were all implanted with microchips when they got their tech installed. It appears as though they were “activated” by a transmitter inside Lillian Luthor’s prison. We’re using the microchips from those borgs to scan for others that might be hidden in the city, but we’re coming up empty.”

“The one who self-detonated by Kara said he was the last one. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but she might be telling the truth.” Alex jerks her head back to the lab. Lena has the good sense to look busy with the computer.

“Do you trust her?”

“No, but Kara does.” There’s a long pause. “Right now she’s all we’ve got.”

The concession by Alex fills Lena with satisfaction but as the two agents step back into the lab; Lena focuses her attention on the screen. Director Henshaw lingers for a moment, and Lena can feel his eyes on her.

He finally turns to the door. “I’m going to see about relocating Lillian Luthor to somewhere more...private. When I get back you better have figured out how to wake her up.”

 He starts to walk out. Lena takes a breath. “Director Henshaw. Make sure you put my mother in the darkest hole you can find.”

 

\-----------------------------------------

 

VI.

Time passes slowly, anxiety colors every moment of the slow process. By the end of the hour, Lena has run the sample through almost every scan system the DEO has. None of them have been able to analyze the sample’s synthetic properties. Lena knows that in whatever hellhole she’s in, Lillian must be laughing. She runs the sample through the last scan parameter she has, sending up a silent prayer for success. 

The scan starts to process and Lena takes advantage of the moment to breathe. She moves over to where Alex is watching Kara on the monitor. Kara is twitching, like she’s in a fever dream. Kara’s vitals spike and Alex zooms the camera in. Kara’s eyes flutter and Lena can see sparks flashing behind her eyelids. Kara moans in pain, tossing her head back and forth. When the lights in her eyes stop flickering, Kara stills, drooping back into her catatonic state.

Alex shoves past Lena. “It’s getting worse. I’m going in there.”

The scanner dings loudly behind them and Alex stops. Lena turns around to see the scanner screen glowing green: a match.

She and Alex rush to the monitor. The levels of natural kryptonite in the substance have held steadily since the first scan, but the synthetic levels are rising rapidly.

Alex leans closer to the screen and frowns. “That’s a lot of kryptonite.”

Lena nods. “The natural kryptonite would be lethal on its own. But with that amount of synthetic?”

Alex cuts her off like she knows what she’s about to say. “But you can reverse it right?”

Lena looks at some of the numbers coming off the synthetic and Kara’s current bio data pulled from Alex’s monitor. It’s doable, but she has even less time than she thought. “Now that I know exactly what it is? Yes. Get me into your chem lab.”

 

\-----------------------------------------

  
VII.

 

The phantom zone is silent. Kara floats through a dark sea of gnarled metal and space junk. Something brushes against her arm. She turns, a pod, like the one she flew in from Krypton, drifts beside her. The front shields have blown and Kara looks inside. She comes face to face with herself, blue and covered in a thin layer of ice. Dead.

Kara kicks the pod away from her and turns around. A blaze of red light blinds her. _Rao?_ She feels her skin start to burn and everything is red, too red, and Kara feels herself being dragged into the fire by Rao’s gravity. She screams for her parents, for Astra, for…

“Wake up, Kara!”

Alex. Kara feels hands on her shoulders, shaking her.

“Please Kara, open your eyes.”

After a few blinks Alex’s face comes into focus above her. Kara tries to sit up and feels strong arms helping her. “What happened?”

Alex sighs. “When that borg blew himself up he was full of a cocktail of synthetic kryptonite.”

_Kryptonite?_ Kara puts a hand to her chest. She can feel her heart beating. “That’s not possible, I should be dead.”

“We saved you.” Alex pauses for a moment, her eyes drifting past Kara to… Kara turns, her head _hurts,_ to follow Alex’s gaze. “Well, Lena did.”

Kara sits up straighter. Lena looks worn, but when she smiles it is warm enough to make Kara do the same. “Thank you.”

Lena ducks her head. There’s a blush creeping up her cheeks “Glad I could return the favor for once.” 

Kara laughs, and for a moment she just stares at Lena. Lena stares back and Kara suddenly feels the urge to stand up and kiss her.

Alex clears her throat and the trance is broken. “How’re you feeling?”

Lena is still smiling at her, but Kara knows better than to brush off a concerned Alex.

“Tired, like I just flew to the next galaxy and back.” Her stomach rumbles. “And hungry. Really hungry.”

Alex snorts. “You’re always hungry.”

Kara sniffs the air. There’s something… “Did somebody make brownies?”

She starts to get up to follow the scent, Alex scrambling to help her. “Vasquez brought some in this morning. Are you sure you’re…”

Kara steadies herself and puts a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Yeah.” She turns back to Lena. “Do you want a brownie?”

Lena laughs but before she can say anything Alex steps between them, and Kara watches her and Lena exchanging quick murderous looks. She clearly missed something while she was out. Alex turns back to Kara, her face the picture of sisterly kindness. “Agent Vasquez is taking Lena home. Let’s get you to medical so you can be checked out.”

“Oh. Okay.” She looks at Lena who gives a small smile before stepping into the hallway where Vasquez has been waiting. “I’ll see you later.”

Lena nods. “You know where to find me.”

Vasquez leads Lena down the hall. Kara notices that Alex looks strangely relieved as Lena disappears from view. “That was rude.”

Alex heads for the medbay and Kara falls into step beside her. Alex gives Kara a sidelong glance. “She likes you.”

Kara trips over her own foot. “I--We--were friends. Are friends? It’s complicated.”

Alex spins her to a stop. “Do you like her?"

Kara tries to stand casually, folding her arms to keep her hands from flailing. “Yeah, I mean we hang out sometimes. She has the best couch and there’s always these really nice flowers at her office. Oh! And she knows all the best late night pizza places in the city and you know how much I love pizza.”

She stops to take a breath. _Nailed it._

She looks up to see an exasperated Alex. “No Kara. I mean do you _like_ like her.”

The last time Kara saw Lena they’d nearly kissed, and then Lena saved her life. She definitely _like_ likes her. Maybe more than likes her… So Kara straightens up and puts her hands on her hips. She’s watched Alex do this enough to know it’ll make her at least _seem_ super confident. “Yeah. I do.”

Alex stomps her foot and drags a hand over her face. “I knew it!”

Kara winces. “Sorry?”

Alex rolls her eyes. “No you aren’t. Of all the people, it just had to be Lena Luthor.” She perks up. “At least I already gave her the shovel talk.”

She claps Kara on the shoulder and continues towards the medbay, leaving Kara standing there slack-jawed.

  
“Hey! What do you mean the shovel talk? Alex!”

 

\-----------------------------------------

VIII.

Lena sits at her desk, buried under a mountain of paperwork. It’s nearly sundown and Lena should be going home, but she’d agreed to send the DEO any information she still had on synthetic kryptonite along with her formulas for the reversing agent. Despite saving Kara, Lena still isn’t sure where she stands with the organization, especially Alex. On the upside, Agent Vasquez actually smiled and thanked her when she dropped her off yesterday, right after making her sign a non-disclosure agreement Lena could swear she pulled out of thin air.

She’s brought back to the present by Jess walking in. “Ms. Luthor, the press are downstairs.”

There weren’t any interviews on her schedule for today. “Who?”

Jess shifts uncomfortably. “Um, all of them. I think they were hoping to catch you when you went home for the day. But it’s getting late...”

Lena stands up and walks around her desk. “Why’re they here?”

Jess smiles. “Video of you saving those alien kids yesterday is all over the internet. Everyone says you’re a hero.”

“That’s because she is.”

Lena whirls around to see Kara on the open balcony, cape billowing behind her. The look in her eyes makes Lena’s heart leap and she doesn’t even bother to look back at Jess. “Tell them they’ll have to wait. And close the door on your way out.”

When she hears the door close she walks out to Kara, looking her over for any signs of kryptonite poisoning. “How’re you feeling?”

“Fine. Good.” Kara smiles then looks down, clasping and unclasping her hands. “I came because I wanted to say thank you.”

Lena smiles. “Of course—“

“No, I mean, yes for saving me but before that.” She starts pacing back and forth. “I know you’ve been working with Starfire and everyone saw you save those kids. If we’re ever going to be accepted we need humans to stand with us and I know how hard it is for you but--”

“Kara, stop.” Lena touches her arm and Kara looks at her with such uncertainty Lena feels a crack in her chest. “I’m not ashamed of you. Not Supergirl, not Kara Danvers.”

Kara smiles shyly at Lena. “Zor-El. My Kryptonian name is Kara Zor-el.”

Knowing that Kara trusts her enough to give her alien name makes Lena feel her heart might burst out of her chest. “It’s an honor to meet you, Kara Zor-El.”

Kara laughs. “You already know me Lena.”

_Enough to love you._ Lena bites her tongue and turns and looks out over the city. The sun is just starting to set, throwing shafts of light onto the skyscrapers, making the city glitter deep pink and gold.

“Sometimes when I’m working late I just stand here and look out at the skyline. You couldn’t get a view like this in Metropolis.”

“It’s stunning.” Kara steps up so close beside her that their arms brush.

They stand there for a moment before Kara tilts her face up at the sun and closes her eyes, sighing with contentment. The rays caress Kara’s skin, skipping across her eyelashes, weaving gold through her hair. Lena thinks she looks god-touched, molded out of a dancing star.

“You’re brighter than all of it.”

When Kara kisses her, she tastes like sunlight.

 

\-----------------------------------------

 

IX.

 

Kara doesn’t realize how long the kiss goes on until Lena pulls back, gently pressing a hand to her chest as she tries to catch her breath. Kara swallows hard, trying to stop her heart from hammering. She starts to untangle herself from the tight embrace. “I should probably let you get down there. I bet the press is still waiting.”

Lena’s next words are soft, but Kara freezes at the sound. The accent isn’t quite right, but the words are unmistakable. “Did you just speak Kryptonian?”

Lena steps back, running a hand through her hair. “Well, I’ve been working on this translation software with Kori and apparently one of her powers is that she can speak the language of anyone she touches. At some point she touched your cousin, don’t ask me how, so I asked her to teach me some.” She stops to breathe and finally looks at Kara. “I know it’s your native language so I thought it might be nice for you to have someone to speak it with, if you wanted to.”

“I’d like that.” In all the years Kara had been on earth, no one had learned Kryptonian, not even Alex. Kara only spoke it in dreams of her life back on Krypton. But with Lena she can be Kara Zor-El and Kara Danvers; for the first time, she doesn’t have to choose.

Lena’s smiles, her shoulders dropping with relief. “And I meant what I said, about wanting to go with you instead of the press. That _is_ what I said, right?”

Kara laughs. “Yes. Kori is definitely a good teacher.”

Lena looks back at her office door. “I just have to get out of the building without them seeing me.”

Kara tries to casually gesture towards the edge of the building. “We could always, you know, do the superhero thing.”

Lena follows the gesture, her eyebrows shooting up. “You mean fly?”

Kara grins and puts out her hand. “Yeah. We’d beat the traffic.”

Lena takes it. “Okay.”

They drift over the city until a tailwind carries them west, into the sunset.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic would never have gotten finished without the help of [ anamatics](http://archiveofourown.org/users/anamatics) (the best beta anyone could ask for) and all the reader comments that kept me engaged and motivated to keep going.
> 
> To everyone who stuck with the story, I hope you've enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have a moment, leave a comment and let me know how you felt about the conclusion to our heroines' story!


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